I love fish but I’m somewhat scared of fish, lol. I remembered there was a time when I was still little and I was eating dinner in front of the TV. I accidentally swallowed a fish bone which caused me so much discomfort in the throat that Gran had to rush me to the GP. The doc looked down into my throat with a torch and then used a tweezer to pull out this 1″ long fish bone. Nice. Lesson learnt: Never eat fish in front of the TV. Haha.
I try to steam cod fish at least once a week as it is a healthy way of cooking. Plus cod is high in protein & omega-3 fats and low in calories. My husband and I both love cod a lot and it’s probably one of the very few types of fish we eat on a regular basis. Sometimes when I couldn’t get any fresh cod, I would substitute with garoupa or snapper for this same recipe and it tastes equally good too.
The Teochew style of steaming fish is really hassle free. Very little seasoning is required so we can taste the original freshness and sweetness of the fish. With the addition of other ingredients like Chinese mushrooms, tomatoes, salted plums, ginger and spring onions, it just brings out the flavour even more. For best results, choose the freshest cod you can find from the wet market or supermarket. Frozen ones will not be ideal for steaming. Or go for the traditional option of a whole pomfret.
Normally before I eat the fish, I will bruise the plums further to release their juices so I get a soury kick to the ‘fish soup’ which I will then drizzle over my rice. Give it a try! 🙂
Teochew Steamed Fish Recipe
Ingredients (serves two as one of few side dishes)
1 slice cod fish fillet
1 tomato, cut into wedges
3 dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked in hot water, stems removed & sliced
2 salted plums
3-4 slices peeled ginger
2 slices peeled ginger, cut into thin strips
1 stalk spring onion, cut to 1″ sections + extra for garnish
1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
3 tbsps water
Instructions
1. Lay the ginger slices on the bottom of a deep steaming dish and place the cod fillet on top with skin side up. (to prevent the fish from sticking to the base of the dish)
2. Drizzle the light soy sauce over the fish and spoon water along the sides.
3. Gently bruise the plums and scatter them together with the tomato wedges, mushroom slices, ginger strips and spring onion over the fish.
4. Steam at high heat for about 15 minutes till fish is cooked.
5. Garnish with spring onions and serve. Enjoy!