Entree: China – Cantonese / Guangdong – 清蒸魚 ➤ Qīngzhēng yú (Whole white-fleshed fish gently steamed with julienned ginger, scallions and a light soy-based sauce)

Food safety reminder: Follow safe food-handling practices and use a food thermometer to verify safe internal cooking temperatures.

Serving Size: 4

Approximate Time

Prep 10 min

Cook 12 min

Total 25 min

Ingredients

1 cleaned whole sea bass, about 1.1 kg gross; estimated edible raw flesh: 550 g (assumption: the stated weight is after scaling, gutting, and cleaning; approximate 50% edible yield)
22 ml low-sodium soy sauce
15 ml Shaoxing wine
2.5 g sugar
2.5 g kosher salt
45 ml vegetable oil
15 ml toasted sesame oil
85 g fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
90 g scallions, white and green parts separated and julienned
1 small bunch cilantro, about 15 g (optional)
1 lime, about 67 g whole, cut into wedges (optional)

Instructions

1. Pat the fish dry and make 2–3 diagonal slashes on each side. Arrange half the ginger and the scallion whites on a heatproof plate, place the fish on top, and scatter the remaining ginger and scallion greens over it. Drizzle with Shaoxing wine and season with salt.
2. Set a steamer or wok with a steaming rack over boiling water. Cover and steam the fish over high heat until opaque and flaky, about 8–12 minutes depending on thickness (approximately 8 minutes per inch / 2.5 cm of thickness).
3. While the fish steams, stir together the low-sodium soy sauce and sugar. Heat the vegetable oil in a small pan until very hot but not smoking.
4. Remove the cooked fish from the steamer. Pour the soy-sauce mixture over it, then immediately pour the hot vegetable oil over the ginger and scallions. Drizzle with toasted sesame oil.
5. Garnish with cilantro if using, and serve immediately with lime wedges if using.