I decided this week to feature a dish that we eat regularly and with gusto everytime. Steamed fish has been served in my family at least a couple of nights a week ever since I can remember, and that's not because it's good for you. No, the reason we consume it so often (and the reason we consume all food in this house) is flavour. The taste of fresh fish is the main feature in this dish as the ingredients that go into making it  enhance the sweetness of fish rather than mask it. In fact, this is how we prefer fish around here. Not fried, not stewed, not boiled, not grilled, not even roasted. Steamed. Good. I haven't even mentioned how easy it is to prepare and how little time it takes, and that despite the fact that we have had this dish for years, we are still delighted every time the fish makes its dramatic entrance. Yes, we all squeal like little girls by the sight of good food.

By the way, I have seen excessively fancy interpretations of this dish but I still think this way is the best. The  less you muck, the better it will be. Go on, be brave and let the fish shine on its own!

Try and choose the freshest fish you can afford. You can use a variety of fish, this really depends on your taste. I always like John Dory, silver perch or barramundi or even a fillet of salmon for steaming purposes. Just make sure to not overcook it as there is nothing worse than chewing on sandy, tough fish. This fish should be  cooked to medium, still be moist inside, the flesh should offer no resistance and just melt in your mouth. As you can see from the picture, I also like it with a lot of coriander ... it's my weakness.

Ingredients

  • Whole fish, gutted and cleaned: the size or type will depend on what you find at the markets today, make sure it's fresh, fresh, fresh
  • A large size steamer, bamboo or metal, or a wok (read in the comments section below on how to use a wok for steaming)
  • Soy sauce: 3 tablespoons
  • Sesame oil: 1 tablespoon
  • Fresh coriander: 1/4 bunch, chopped
  • Shallots (spring onions): 2 stalks, chopped to 1 inch lengths whites and all
  • Olive oil: extra-virgin or virgin, 1/2 cup
  • Fresh garlic: 2 cloves, finely sliced
  • Fresh ginger: a small knob, julienned
  • Fresh red hot chilli: sliced
  • Lemon juice from 1/2 lemon
  • Salt and white pepper to taste
Preparation

Place water in the bottom of steamer (or wok) and start the boiling process. In the meantime, make diagonal slices on top of fish, about 1cm thick and 2cm apart and sprinkle both sides of the fish with salt and pepper to taste. Place fish on a large enough plate to accomodate it and which will fit into the steamer basket. We had to shape our fish to the size of the plate as it was quite a large one. Once the water has started boiling place the plate in the steamer basket, cover and lower heat to medium. Start checking for doneness in 8 minutes and every couple of minutes thereafter by delicately pulling the flesh apart with chopsticks and peering at the flesh. Mum's preferred method to ensure doneness is to watch out bulging eyeballs (we are still talking about the fish). Yep, that's how she can tell the fish is done, and I must admit, she's rarely wrong on that one. The meat should be opaque all the way to the spine ... but just so. We don't want dry fish, remember?

While the fish steams away, place olive oil, garlic, ginger and chillies in a small frying pan and carefully heat until little bubbles start forming on the sides of the pan and the garlic and ginger become golden. Remove oil from heat.

Once fish is cooked sufficiently, remove from steamer. Pour soy sauce and sesame oil on top. Scatter shallots and coriander on top and then pour hot olive oil on fish. You will hear sizzling noises, that's a good thing. The oil has to be pretty darn hot in order to sear the fish. Squeeze lemon juice on fish and serve immediately with steamed white rice. Once you are finished with the fish, don't dismiss the leftover broth, as it's delicious and full of flavour, you should spoon it over your rice and eat away, it's good!