Salmon made in the style of Cantonese steamed fish that’s often served at Chinese banquets. With just a few simple Chinese pantry ingredients, you can easily recreate this at home for a fraction of the price!
This dish is adapted from the Cantonese-style steamed fish that you often find at Chinese banquets, birthdays, or weddings. Traditionally, this dish is made using a whole fish—often a white fish like snapper or sea bass.
Sadly, fresh whole fish is widely unavailable in Western grocery stores. Even if you live near an Asian market selling fresh fish, timing is everything.
Ideally, you’d want to make this dish the same day you bought your fish. But, this has always been a problem for me since I’m prone to mood or schedule changes once dinner time comes around.
Thankfully, high-quality frozen fish filets work just as well! I chose salmon because it’s widely available. With frozen filets, I can choose when I want to cook.
I thaw the filets (in their vacuum-sealed pouches) on the counter in a bowl of cool water for 1 hour and they’re ready to go. Or, I use the thaw function on my microwave. Bet you didn’t know that button existed, eh? It worked surprisingly well, I might add.
Another bonus of using frozen filets is that you can enjoy this dish BONELESS.
*Disclaimer: The FDA recommends against thawing on the countertop to prevent foodborne illness. Also, you should never refreeze items that have been thawed.
My personal experience is that if it’s taken straight from frozen to thawing on the countertop, it is fine to use within 2 hours. Bacteria growth is exponential when food temperatures are between 40°F – 140°F, and it is recommended to toss the food if it’s been sitting at that temperature for 4 hours.
I use a 2-hour window because I want to account for the TOTAL time it’s been sitting around at this “danger zone” temp (e.g., when you get them from the grocery store to your home, or whatever other time delays that might happen during processing and packaging on the manufacturers’ part).
I can already imagine my late grandmother shaking her head at me, saying, “You’ve eaten soup I’ve left out all night, and you’re fine.” Or as Uncle Roger might say, “Why so weak?”
To be fair, food and fish from the markets when I was in Malaysia are likely much fresher, since it’s generally caught locally the day of and sold at the crack of dawn. I can’t begin to count the number of steps it’d take in the Western markets to process, package, ship, and deliver them in mass quantities to their chain supermarkets.
Basically, proceed at your own risk and judgment. Who have I become since coming to the States? *sigh*
Yes! Any delicate or mild white fish will work even better—halibut, cod, or barramundi.
No. Just kidding. If using regular sugar, lessen the amount the recipe calls for by 20-30%. So if it says 25g, start with 17-18g instead. Still, I highly recommend using rock sugar, particularly the yellowish/brownish kind, in this recipe. The sauce will have a more caramelized flavor and smoother mouthfeel as you simmer the sauce. Tastes so good with steamed white rice. Mmmm.
Roll up and crumple a long sheet of foil into a log, then loop it into a circle (see images below). Set it in your wok and put your plate of fish above it. Add about 1 inch of water to the wok making sure the water doesn’t quite touch your plate.
Cover your wok with a lid, and you have yourself a makeshift steamer!
Any Chinese leafy green like gai lan, bok choy, or you choy. My personal favorite is blanched gai lan with ginger and garlic sauce, and it’s what I ate this dish with when I made it. Recipe for the gai lan coming soon!
I’m a foodie with a simple philosophy: why should amazing food be reserved for the weekends alone? I’m all about making every meal delicious because, let’s face it, we only have so many meals in our lifetime.
My mission? To take the stress out of cooking with easy-to-use meal plans so you can enjoy mouthwatering recipes any day of week. Join me on this tasty journey and let’s savor “more taste, less waste” in every bite!
I’m a foodie with a simple philosophy: why should amazing food be reserved for the weekends alone? I’m all about making every meal delicious because, let’s face it, we only have so many meals in our lifetime.
My mission? To take the stress out of cooking with easy-to-use meal plans so you can enjoy mouthwatering recipes any day of week. Join me on this tasty journey and let’s savor “more taste, less waste” in every bite!
Email:
Diane
MPM always comes up with the most delicious recipe with the simplest way to do it. I always appreciate all the DIY make shift. This came out delicious!
2 years ago