Steamed Tilapia Hunan Style Whole Fish Recipes

CHINESE STEAMED WHOLE FISH

Steps:

• Remove any scales from your fish using a serrated steak knife. The areas to look for are the belly and the edges of the fish including the top, near the dorsal fins, and the head. There is nothing worse than having to pick out scales while you're having dinner.
• Cut off any fins with kitchen shears. They are pretty tough, so be careful with this step. Leave the tail and head in tact for presentation.
• Look at the cavity, and you should see the backbone. You may also see a membrane that you should pierce and cut, revealing a blood line near the bone. Run your finger or a spoon across it to clean it thoroughly.
• Check the head and gills. You should not see any gills left, and if there are, remove them with the kitchen shears and rinse the area clean. Older Chinese folks who like dining on the fish head will appreciate this step.
• Give the fish a final rinse, shake off the excess water (no need to pat it dry) and transfer to a heat-proof plate for steaming. No salt, seasoning, or wine should be used on the fish before steaming. Repeat. Nothing on the fresh fish before steaming!
• For steaming, I used an elongated heat-proof plate. To accommodate that, I needed to MacGyver a steaming apparatus that would fit said plate. It's simple enough. I used a wok and metal steam rack. If you need more height to keep the plate above the water in the wok, set a rack on top of a metal can with both ends removed. It's a handy and cheap addition to your kitchen arsenal!
• Steam for 9 minutes and turn off the heat. Use a butter knife to peek at the meat and confirm the fish is cooked through. The meat should be opaque down to the bone, but the bone should be slightly translucent and not fully cooked (remember, you will not be eating the bone. Trust me on this one!).
• Next, carefully pour off all of the liquid accumulated on the plate from steaming and spread half of the ginger, the green portions of the scallion, and the cilantro over the fish.
• Mix the water, salt, sugar, light soy sauce or seasoned soy sauce, and fresh ground white pepper in a small bowl or measuring cup. Heat 2 tablespoons oil and the other half of the ginger in a saucepan until the ginger begins to sizzle and add in the sauce mixture. Heat the mixture until simmering.
• Once simmering, add the rest of the oil and white portions of the scallion and stir until the liquid begins to simmer and sizzle once again. Spoon the entire mixture evenly over the fish and serve hot!

STEAMED TILAPIA: HUNAN-STYLE WHOLE FISH

Steps:

• The fish market should have gutted the fish, trimmed off the sharp fins, and removed the scales, but there's additional work needed to prepare your whole fish! First, use a knife to go over the fish and remove any scales that the market may have missed. Usually scales are missed along the fins, under the belly, and around the head.
• You should also check the inside cavity of the fish and use a dull butter knife to remove/scrape any blood lines or membranes that were left behind. Sometimes there are also gills remaining and sharp fins, so use kitchen shears to help with cutting these sections off. Fish markets generally don't bother with these cleaning and preparation details, but they make all the difference!
• Next, start from the tail end of the fish, and cut it like you are filleting it from the tail to the front. When you reach the bones in the cavity, you can cut through them with a sturdy chef's knife but be careful not to cut yourself! Kitchen shears could be helpful for the novice cook.
• After cutting through the bones, continue splitting the fish up to the top fin as if you were filleting it, but *stop* short of cutting off the filet from the rest of the fish. Once you reach the head, split it in half, and now you have a split fish.
• Give your fish a quick rinse, set it aside on a cutting board skin side up, and press on the fish slightly to flatten it out.
• Prepare your silken tofu by cutting the plastic cover off, and pouring out any liquid. Next, turn the tofu container upside down on a cutting board, and carefully lift the container away from the block of tofu. Next, cut the tofu in half lengthwise, and slice it crosswise into ½-inch slices.
• Use your knife or cleaver to lift each half of the cut tofu on a large heatproof plate or large bowl. The platter should be slightly deep enough to hold the steaming liquid and sauce. Lay your tofu bed down on the plate so the pieces are fanned across either side. Sprinkle ⅛ teaspoon of salt evenly over the silken tofu. Next, gently place the fish skin side-up on the tofu, and it's ready for the steamer!
• Use 4 cups of cold water in the wok, place your fish fish on a steaming rack inside, and cover the wok.
• Turn the heat to medium-high. The water should boil in about 7 minutes. Steam for another 6 minutes--a total of 13 minutes. Check that the water is simmering after 7 minutes. If not, then the heat must be turned up. If you see the water boiling vigorously, then turn the heat down to a simmer/very low boil. After a total of 13 minutes, check the fish for doneness. It's key not to overcook the fish for the best results!
• Use a butter knife to press into the part of the fish that has bones underneath it. The knife should easily go through the meat like butter, right to the bone. If the meat feels a little tough or you encounter some resistance as you penetrate the fish (or you don't hit the bone), then the meat is likely still raw and will need another few minutes.
• Once your tilapia passes the doneness test, turn the heat off and carefully pour off the liquid that has pooled at the bottom of the plate, using a dry kitchen towel to grip the plate on one side, and if you need it, a spatula to gently hold the fish in place. You can do this directly in the wok, or if it's too hot, pour it off into the kitchen sink. Either way, do it slowly and take care not to let the fish and tofu slide off the plate!
• In a clean pan or wok set over low heat, add 3 tablespoons of canola oil, 1½ tablespoons minced ginger, and 6 tablespoons of duo jiao salted chilli peppers. Let the ginger and duo jiao peppers infuse the oil for about 1-2 minutes. The oil should start turning red and fragrant like chili oil!
• Next, add 2 teaspoons minced garlic and the white portions of the scallion. Give it a stir for another 10 seconds, and add ⅔ cup hot water, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon granulated white sugar, and ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper powder.
• Let the liquid come to a boil, and turn it down to simmer. Season to taste with more salt--or the salty liquid from the duo jiao chili pepper jar. The sauce should be quite salty for this fish dish!
• Stir in the green portion of the scallion, and take the pan off the heat. Immediately spoon the sauce onto the fish, making sure to evenly distribute the salted chili peppers, garlic, ginger, and scallions over the fish and tofu.
• Sprinkle some additional ground white pepper powder over the top, and your Hunan steamed fish is ready!
• Serve your Hunan Steamed Tilapia with plenty of rice, because a spoonful of fish + a big spoonful of this spectacular sauce over rice makes for the perfect bite! It's also best served family style, perhaps with a stir-fried vegetable or an additional meat dish to give the meal some variety.

STEAMED TILAPIA FISH

Steps:

• Clean the fish on the inside as well as outside. De-scaleS the fish.
• Make 3 long diagonal cuts on its body.
• Sprinkle salt evenly throughout on both its sides. Don't miss the top of its head and the cuts.
• Insert ginger slices into the cuts and inside its guts.
• Sprinkle some garlic and the spring onions onto aluminium foil then place fish over the garlic and into a steamer.
• Pour in cooking wine and the rest of the ingredients for sauce on and around the fish.
• Make sure water is already boiling. If so, steam for 20 minutes. Otherwise, 25-30 minutes.
• Enjoy!

STEAMED WHOLE TILAPIA

Steps:

• Scale and gut the tilapia (or have your fishmonger do this).
• Make 3 or 4 shallow slashes on each side of the fish, to absorb the marinate.
• Mix soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil, garlic and peppers. Rub a small portion of this sauce into the fish, including into the slashes.
• Add shredded cabbage and scallion to the remainder of the sauce, and mix.
• Layer cabbage onto a heat-resistant plate which will fit into your steamer, and place the fish atop the cabbage. Put the plate into the top portion of the steamer.
• In the bottom of the steamer, pour three inches of water. Set steamer over range on high, and allow water to boil. When the water is at boiling, put the steamer basket over the lower portion, and cover.
• Steam fish until it has just turned opaque, approximately 15-20 minutes.
• Serve, and sprinkle sesame seeds atop.