Monday, November 21, 2011

Steamed Fish with Fremented Black Beans, Garlic, and Chilli Recipe

Steamed pomfret with preserved black bean, garlic and chilli
A classic Chinese dish. Very easy to prepare and super tasty!

I used to hate steamed fish (don't we all?). Ugh. It's not something that I normally had when I was still in Indonesia (back then, we preferred deep fried fish with sweet and sour sauce heheheh). I was just not used to eating fish skin being silky smooth (I would think that silky smooth = slimy), and I felt that the steamed fish with ginger and scallion served with soy sauce is just too...subtle for my taste. I want explosions. Subtle isn't my thang.

After a few years in Hong Kong, I learnt to appreciate and enjoy steamed fish. Yes, even the subtle kind...but this explosive one is one of my favorites. Never gets bored of this flavor combo!

Recipe
- 1 fish (choose your favorite. I love pomfret/grass carp/hung yao. You can  use fillet too), cleaned well
- 1 cm ginger, julienned
- 2 chilli, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp fermented black beans
Place fish on a plate. Scatter some of the minced stuff on top of the fish and in the cavity of the fish, steam until the fish is just done. The above fish takes about 8-10 minutes to steam. You can use a steamer or a wok. Fill wok with hot water, about 1.5cm deep, place a shallow bowl or plate upside down, place the plate with the fish on top of that bowl, cover wok and steam.

If you want a short cut (I always do), you can opt to not use ginger and chilli, simply buy Lee Kum Kee's black bean and garlic sauce and 1-2 tsp all over your fish before steaming.

Perfect with (lots of) rice.

10 comments:

Joanne said...

It's also super photogenic! I kind of tried to stick my fork into the screen...

mochaccinoland said...

nope, i love steamed fish since i was a toddler. it's most likely bcos of my teochew root. my favourite is teochew style steamed pomfret!! :D http://www.noobcook.com/teochew-steamed-fish/

Von said...

I've always loved steam fish!! And your looks very delicious....though probably a bit hot for my tastes! ;) I think it's because that was the main way my mum cooked fish when i was young- I didn't have much deep fried fish! (though deep fried fish with sweet and sour sauce sounds amazingly good! I can definitely see why steamed fish may lose its appeal....)

daphne said...

You make fish look sooo good. I steam it in the same way- down to the metal plate!

tigerfish said...

I don't think fermented black beans, garlic and chili is a subtle combination leh!.....hee heee

Little Corner of Mine said...

I love this kind of steamed fish and I love fermented black beans! I steamed mine before with spicy fermented black beans. :)

gastronomous anonymous said...

i love steamed fish! great recipe, will definitely try this.

Noob Cook said...

I love steamed fish, but the fish must be super fresh (bought and cooked on same day). Your photo making me hungry :)

Jobs on a Cruise Ship said...

Your site has a nice appearance, it loaded quickly, was easy to navigate, and no missing or broken links. lots of good information. Thanks!.

Unknown said...

I'm glad that your post included how to use steam to cook something besides vegies! good directions. Ive never tried use steam to cook anything besides vegies.