Steamed Fish with Ginger Scallion
This Chinese seafood builds whole white fish, cleaned, scallions and shaoxing wine into a crowd-pleasing meal you can have ready in about 60 minutes. You'll find the full ingredient list (with a scaler to change the servings), 6 steps of method, substitutions, and ideas for what to serve alongside.
You'll mainly reach for saucepan and steamer. At medium difficulty across 6 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, it's pescatarian β fish but no meat.
What you'll need
Shopping list (4)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
π Unit converter
How to make it
- Scale, gut and rinse the fish, pat it dry, then cut two or three diagonal slashes on each side and rub lightly with salt and the shaoxing wine.
- Lay a few slices of ginger and the white parts of two scallions on a heatproof plate, set the fish on top and scatter more ginger over it.
- Bring water to a rolling boil in a steamer, set in the plate, cover and steam over high heat for 8 to 10 minutes until the flesh is opaque and flakes to at least 63 C at the bone.
- Meanwhile finely shred the remaining ginger and scallions, and warm the soy sauce, water and sugar together until the sugar dissolves.
- Carefully pour off the watery liquid that has collected on the plate, lift off the cooked aromatics, then pile the fresh shredded ginger and scallion over the fish.
- Heat the neutral oil until smoking and pour it sizzling over the aromatics, drizzle the warm soy mixture around the fish, garnish with cilantro and serve at once.
You'll use: Saucepan Β· Steamer
Ingredient substitutions
- Soy Sauce
- tamari (gluten-free) Β· coconut aminos
What to serve with Steamed Fish with Ginger Scallion
- Kung Pao Chicken Chicken
- Ma Po Tofu Beef
- Wontons Pork
- Sweet and Sour Pork Pork
Tips & common questions
How long does Steamed Fish with Ginger Scallion take to make?
About 60 minutes from start to finish β an estimate based on the 6 steps and 10 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of soy sauce?
Try tamari (gluten-free). See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes β use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
How should I store leftovers?
Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate in an airtight container, and eat within 3 days. Reheat until piping hot throughout.
Related recipes
Steamed Fish with Ginger Scallion is an original Chinese recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Ginger Scallion Red Perch (50-366) (25058329532).jpg by Tim Sackton from Somerville, MA, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top β how we source recipes.