sately
Steamed whole fish with ginger and scallion, the whole dishSteamed whole fish with ginger and scallion, close up

Steamed whole fish with ginger and scallion

30 min · 50 g protein · 657 cals / serving

The centrepiece of the Lunar New Year table, where a whole fish means abundance for the year ahead. A whole sea bass steamed on a bed of ginger and scallion until just flaky, then dressed in a warm, sweet soy sauce and finished with a sizzle of hot oil poured over fresh ginger, scallion and cilantro. Served with steamed bok choy and rice to catch the sauce.

Servings2

Ingredients

Fish

  • 1 whole sea bass or striped bass, about 2 lb striped bass, cleaned and scaled; the weight is the cooked flesh that comes off the bone
  • 1 tbsp sherry, dry sherry or Shaoxing wine
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Aromatics

  • a 7 cm (3-inch) piece ginger, half sliced, half very finely julienned
  • 4 green onions, 2 cut in lengths, 2 finely shredded
  • a small bunch fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Sauce

Sizzle

To serve

Steps

  1. Pat the fish dry inside and out and make 3 diagonal cuts to the bone on each side. Rub with the sherry and salt. Lay the lengths of green onion and the sliced ginger on a heatproof plate that fits your steamer or wok, and set the fish on top; tuck a few ginger slices into the cavity.
  2. Start the rice (1 part rice to 1 1/4 parts water, simmered covered 12 minutes, rested 10). Bring 2 inch of water to a rolling boil in a wok or steamer. Set the plate inside, cover and steam over high heat for 9–12 minutes, depending on thickness, until the flesh at the thickest point flakes easily and looks white to the bone (145°F). Steam the bok choy in a second tier or for the last 3 minutes beside the fish.Step 2, what it should look like
  3. While the fish steams, heat the soy sauce, water and sugar in a small pan until just bubbling and the sugar has dissolved.Step 3, what it should look like
  4. Carefully pour off the liquid that has collected on the plate and discard the cooked aromatics underneath. Scatter the julienned ginger, shredded green onion and cilantro over the fish. Heat the oil in a small pan until it shimmers and just starts to smoke, then pour it over the aromatics so they sizzle. Pour the warm soy sauce around the fish and serve at once with the bok choy and rice.

Good to know

Which fish works best?

Any mild, white-fleshed fish of about 700–900 g: sea bass, striped bass, branzino, snapper or tilapia. Fillets work too; steam them 6–8 minutes.

Why pour off the steaming liquid?

It carries a fishy taste and would water down the sauce. Fresh aromatics and freshly heated soy sauce are what make the dish taste clean.

Can I skip the hot oil?

The sizzle wakes up the raw ginger and scallion and gives the sauce its body, so it is worth doing. Halving it still works, at about 60 instead of 56.

Alternatives

Per

Calories
108
Protein
(32%)
8 g
Fat
(23%)
3 g
Carbohydrates
(45%)
12 g
of which sugar
1 g
Fiber
1 g
Sodium
366 mg

About 55% of the alcohol remains after cooking; the label counts only that.

More meals

Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How

As written, 1315 kcal goes into the pot and 1197 g of ingredients comes out as about 1220 g of food: 108 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.