Easy Steamed Fish in Light Soy Sauce
Steamed fish is a very simple dish to make for the family. On the days when I’m too busy to cook, I would make a steamed meal that’s quick and easy. Steam the fish in some light soy sauce, and rice in the rice cooker; and 15 minutes later, dinner is served for a family of 2 to 3!
Ingredients
Fresh fish is the most important ingredient in this dish. The fresher the fish, the more delicious it will be. Avoid using fish that is not fresh (that is, with the flesh easily falling apart, the colour has changed, or emitting an unpleasant smell). For this recipe, I used a steak cut, but fish fillet cuts work as well. If using whole fish like Tilapia or Sea bass, increase the amount of salt and the cooking time as whole fish tends to cook longer.
The herbs I used are ginger, garlic, red chillies and some cut spring onion leaves for garnishing. Ginger provides a little heat and helps absorb the unpleasant fishy smell that fresh fish sometimes has. Garlic adds a little nutty kick to the steamed fish, while chilli gives a nice bite. I had also fried the ginger and garlic beforehand in unscented cooking oil to give them a lovely caramelized fragrance and flavour.
Next, for the sauces, I used light soy sauce and sesame oil. My light soy sauce is the less salty type, so I used quite a good amount. Again, if using a salty type (or a very strong tasting one), reduce the amount to 1/2 tbsp instead. Cooking the light soy sauce with water, sesame oil (for fragrance), fried herbs and cut chilli binds all the flavours together. This makes the sauce homogenous, before adding it to the fish.
Steps
Here are the brief steps to make Steamed Fish in Light Soy Sauce:
- Marinate the fish with salt.
- Fry the ginger strips in oil until crispy. Remove from the heat.
- Fry the garlic until crispy. Remove from the heat.
- Cook the sauce with light soy sauce, sesame oil, water and red chilli.
- Steam the fish.
- Remove the fishy water.
- Add sauce, crispy ginger and garlic. Steam for 3 minutes.
- Garnish with cut red chilli and spring onions, and serve.
Tips
- Adjust the amount of salt used for the type of fish. Steak and fillet cuts generally use less salt than whole fish.
- Caramelizing the ginger and garlic releases their flavours into the unscented oil.
- Cooking the soy sauce helps bind all the flavours together before steaming it with the fish.
- Removing the water released by the fish reduces the fishy smell in the dish. Do not pour it back into the steamer as the fish will absorb the smell.
- Make sure to watch the full video to see how I made it exactly!
Storage Instructions
This Steamed Fish in Light Soy Sauce is best enjoyed immediately after cooking or within the day. As steamed fish is a very delicate dish, I do not recommend storing it in the fridge.
It is also not recommended to store in the freezer as the ice crystals would change the texture of the flesh after it is thawed.
Recipes You Might Like
If you have enjoyed this Steamed Fish in Light Soy Sauce, you may also enjoy these recipes:
- Simple Salted Plum Steamed Fish
- Healthy Steamed Ginger Scallion Fish
- Steamed Tilapia Fish with Soy Sauce Recipe
- Teochew-style Steamed Fish
- Simple Steamed Tofu
Easy Steamed Fish with Soy Sauce
Equipment
- Wok
- Steamer
- Food Tongs
Ingredients
- 250 g red snapper, steak cut
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 75 ml cooking oil
- 50 g ginger, cut into strips
- 45 g garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp sesame oil
- 50 ml water
- 3/4 tbsp red chilli, cut
- 1 tbsp spring onions, cut
Instructions
- Marinate the fish with 1/4 tsp salt on one side. Repeat with the rest of the salt on the other side.
- Over medium heat, fry the ginger in cooking oil for 3.5 minutes, or until brown and crispy. Remove all the ginger from the oil.
- Fry the garlic for 1.5 minutes, or until crispy and golden brown. Switch off the heat and remove the garlic.
- Remove the cooking oil until about 1 tbsp is remaining in the wok.
- Switch on the heat to medium. Add in the light soy sauce, sesame oil, water, and 1/2 tbsp of cut chilli to the wok. Stir until combined and let it cook for 1.5 minutes, or until it comes to a boil. Remove from the wok and set aside in a heatproof bowl.
- Place the steamer on the stove over medium heat. Add 1.5 litres of water. Cover the steamer and let it come to a rolling boil.
- Place the fish on the steamer for 4 minutes.
- With a steam clamp, carefully remove the steaming plate. Tilt the plate while supporting the fish with a spatula to drain the excess water into a bowl. Place the fish back into the steamer and discard the water.
- Pour the soy sauce mixture, fried ginger strips, garlic and 1/4 tbsp of cut chilli over the fish. Cover the steamer and let it steam for another 3 more minutes.
- Switch off the heat. With a steam clamp, carefully remove from the steamer.
- Garnish with the rest of the cut chilli and spring onions. Serve.
Video
Notes
- Adjust the amount of salt used and cooking time for the type of fish cut. Steak and fillet cuts generally use less salt and have a shorter cooking time than whole fish.
- Caramelizing the ginger and garlic releases their flavours into the unscented oil.
- Cooking the soy sauce helps bind all the flavours together before steaming it with the fish.
- Removing the water released by the fish reduces the fishy smell in the dish. Do not pour it back into the steamer as the fish will absorb the smell.
- Make sure to watch the video to ensure success!