Steamed Fish With Black Bean Sauce

5.00 (8)
⏱ 30 mins 🍽 4 serving(s) 🏷 Asian

This is my personal take on a classic Chinese steamed fish, adapted from a well-loved cookbook. The key ingredient is fermented black beans, which provide a deep, savoury flavour. I typically use thick fillets of Chilean sea bass, but any firm white fish works perfectly. The fish is steamed over a plate with aromatics like ginger and spring onion, then finished with a simple sauce. It's best served with steamed rice to enjoy all the delicious juices. The recipe serves four people.

Steamed Fish With Black Bean Sauce

Ingredients

  • 2 thick firm white fish fillets or 1 1/2 lbs red snapper
  • 2 tablespoons fermented black beans
  • 2 green onions, shredded into 1 1/2 inch long pieces
  • 4 slices ginger, shredded
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 tablespoons sherry wine or 2 tablespoons rice wine
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon peanut oil
  • cilantro (to garnish)

Method

  1. Should you be using a whole fish, create three deep diagonal cuts into each of its sides.
  2. Roughly chop the fermented black beans. Arrange half of these beans along with half of the shredded spring onions and ginger on a heatproof plate suitable for steaming. Lay the fish fillets on this bed.
  3. Scatter the sugar over the fish. Next, evenly pour the sherry or rice wine, light soy sauce, and peanut oil over the top. Cover the fish with the remaining black beans, spring onions, and ginger.
  4. To set up your steamer, I place two pairs of chopsticks in a cross pattern inside my electric wok to form a raised platform.
  5. Position the plate holding the fish over briskly boiling water in the steamer. Cover and steam for 10 minutes for thick fillets, 20 minutes for a whole fish, and less than 10 minutes for thinner fillets.
  6. The fish is cooked when the fillets flake apart readily or when a chopstick can be inserted easily into the gill area of a whole fish.
  7. Carefully transfer the fish to a serving platter and add fresh coriander as a garnish.
  8. Present the fish over steamed jasmine rice, ensuring you spoon plenty of the savoury black bean sauce from the plate over each portion.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sodium287500 mg

Recipe details

CategoryAsian
AuthorHey Jude