After a 14-hour flight, hardly any sleep, followed by over 3 hours waiting at the airport, then a 3-hour bus, Mom arrived in Bristol with a jet-lagged body and a mysterious expression on her face.
I bet she wanted something homely that night. So I made her this steamed fish (though I asked her to mix the sauce). I watched her putting ‘a little bit of this, a little bit of that’, mixing everything, then pouring over the fish. ‘How long to steam?’ I asked. She examined the fish, ‘7-8 minutes is enough.’
It was simple but very tasty.
After she got back to HK, I wanted to make it again, but needed to ask for a more specific sauce measurement as I was not sure.
This time, still, ‘a little bit of this, a little bit of that’. I followed — based on my experience and common sense:
The main flavour profile comes from the store-bought black bean sauce, with added sugar to balance the flavour; soy sauce to boost the umami kick; white pepper to offer a bit of heat; sesame oil to achieve a smooth mouthful; and a bit of starch for thickening.
It’s another proof that steamed fish always rocks. (And so does black bean sauce!)
Steamed Fish Cooking Notes
- Which fish to use: Cantonese normally don’t use red fish for steamed fish. Always white, and always fresh. Yet, I used frozen hake since fresh fish is not easy to get in where I live, and it has great value and convenience. It holds the shape after cooked, and offers a certain thickness and bite.
- Prepare the fish: If frozen, make sure to defrost in advance as the ice will dilute the sauce.
- Sauce: While black bean garlic sauce is a handy option, a REAL steamed fish sauce is actually not difficult to make. I encourage you to try it out!
- Garnish: It’s common to fry the scallion with ginger to boost the flavour, but it’s not a must. Soak finely sliced scallions in cold water to make them curl, crunchy and tune down the pungent flavour. So it works, too!
Steamed Fish with Black Bean Sauce Recipe
If you already have a jar of black bean sauce ready, this steam hake can be real quick and easy to pull off. Trust me and give it a go!
Ingredients
Serves 2
- 2 frozen hake fillets, thawed
- ½ scallion
For the Sauce
- 1 ½ tsp black bean garlic sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- ⅛ tsp white pepper
- ½ tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- ½ tsp tapioca/corn starch
- 1 tbsp water
How to Make
- Pat dry the hake and place it on a deep plate.
- Finely slice the scallion and soak in a bowl of cold water till it curls.
- Prepare a steamer or a large casserole/pot which allows you to put the plate in.
- While waiting for the water to come to a boil, mix all the sauce ingredients into a small bowl, then spoon it atop the fish. If using a pot to steam, place a foil loosely on top to prevent steam dripping over the fish.
- Steam for 7–8 minutes, depending on the fish thickness. If the fish is not thoroughly thawed, it may take a longer time. Check before serving.
- Drain the curled scallion and garnish. Serve immediately.
