Steam Fish Hong Kong Style

I've always liked fish... Not that I like to keep them as pets or dive into the water to see them swimming around. I mean I like to eat them, provided they're fresh & not fishy... My mom would always prepare a dish of fish during dinner as my dad love fish. A typical dinner will be 3 dishes, (fish, another meat, stir fry vegetables) & a soup served with white rice. Nothing beats a fresh fish that's steamed, like what most Teochews (a dialect group) would like. I especially love steamed garoupa Hong Kong Style... Simple & simply wonderful.

Jerome knows more about fish than I do. His favourite section of the supermarket is of course the fish & seafood section. He would be the one pointing out the different fishes & telling me the names. My knowledge is limited to a few different fishes. He would also look at the price & tell me whether it's a good buy or not.  So of course, Jerome's the one who pick out the fish at the supermarket. All these knowledge comes from his love for fishing. In fact he loved it so much, he bought a boat just so he could go fishing out in the Singapore waters..(hmm... not that there have been many great catches so far.)

Watching the sun setting & waiting for a fish to bite...

Regarding fish, Jerome's the guy who can do everything from 'start to finish'... He can fish, he can scale the fish, clean the fish & cook it well.  In fact, when we started cooking fish at home, it was Jerome who took the lead... From steamed fish to curry fish head.... & I helped by eating... And if I'm going to cook them, just make sure that they're already cleaned. The first few times I cooked fish, it didn't work very well. Fish that are not fully cooked, steamed fish that smelled fishy, etc... I've decided that the only fish dish I'm ever going to cook will be curry fish head. The curry paste is ready mixed & whatever fishy smell will be covered by the taste of curry.

While pouring over the recipes in the cook books at home, I stumbled across one from "Hawkers' Fair... Sauces" and the picture looks just like the kind I like. So I decided to try out the recipe & try steaming fish once again. I've also decided if that failed again, I would never steam any more fish. Well, glad to say, it worked well and I've used the recipes a few times already. I've cooked once for my in-laws and once for my parents during my mum's birthday. Even my dad said it was good! :))) I'm ready to try out new recipes for more fish.... There's another fish head in the fridge.

Steamed Fish in Fish Seasoned Sauce, Hong Kong Style

Adapted Recipe for Fish Seasoned Sauce

(makes enough for 2 dishes, can keep up to 2 mths in the fridge)

Ingredients:

(A)

5 shallots, peeled & chopped

3 pips garlic, peeled & chopped

2 stalks spring onion, chopped

(B)

500ml water

100ml premium light soya sauce

thumb size ginger, crushed

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp sesame oil

a dash of pepper

Method:

1) Heat up 2 tbsp of oil & saute (A) till fragrant.

2) Add all the other ingredients & bring to a boil.

3) Lower heat & simmer for 10 minutes.

4) Strain.Cool & store in fridge until ready to use.

Recipe for Steamed Fish Hong Kong Style

Ingredients:

1 fresh fish for steaming(eg Garoupa), cleaned

1 stalk spring onion

1 cup fish seasoned sauce

(B)

1 tbsp shredded ginger

1 stalk spring onion, shredded finely

* 1 stalk corriander leave, cut into sections

optional: red chilli, shredded

Method:

1) Line plate with a spring onion and top with fish. (This is suppose to help the fish cook faster.)

2) Steam at high heat fro 15 minutes or until fish is cooked.

3) Pour away the water from the plate. Sprinkle (B) over the steamed fish.

4) Pour hot Fish Seasoned Sauce over the fish & serve immediately.

* The corriander leaves to be sprinkled over the fish not only serves as a garnish, it also release its  unique fragrance to the sauce. So do not skip this.