My Method for Steamed Fish

[jurelometer]

Wayne (El Pescador) asked me to post my favorite method for steamed fish, so here goes:

This is not a specific recipe, more of a at-home, family style method. Learned it from some Vietnamese family members, but there are lots of variations of this dish throughout Asia.  It works especially well with a smaller whole rockfish (Sebastes) that we find along the west coast of North America, but any fish, whole, steaked or fillet will work as long as it is a species suitable for steaming. The more skin and bones, the better the flavor.

The point of this method is to create a steamed fish in a light broth, where the fish flavor is not concealed by sauces, coatings, or other flavors.  This version should only be used when the fish is in really, really, really good shape. If there are any off flavors, they won't be hidden.  If you are not sure if your fish is fresh enough, look up the Chinese variants that pile on the oyster sauce and other strong flavorings.

Step 1.  Prepare your fish.

I am using a lingcod fillet caught and frozen last week with our own Todd (Hardy Boy).  I defrost in the fridge uncovered, on a rack, all by itself  in the meat drawer.  It is also a good idea to hold fresh fish the same way if you are going to eat it within a day or so.  No wet, slimy bagged up fish please.

If you are using a whole fish, score some slices almost down to the bone to promote more even cooking. In my case, I just cut the lingcod fillet into chunks. A whole fillet would make for a more dramatic presentation, but this is easier.




Step 2.  Prepare some herbs.

There are herbs that are popular in Vietnamese cooking, but you can use whatever combo works for you.  Here, I am using Green onions, basil, Kaffir lime leaves, and a bit of Rau Ram (Vietnamese Coriander), plus a couple jalapeno chile slices. I prefer to add the tomatoes after cooking, but cooking tomatoes into a broth is fairly common in Vietnamese cooking.



Step 3 Prepare the Steamer.

The fish will sit on a shallow bowl or lipped platter above the boiling water in the steamer.  I prefer to use a metal grate inside a wok with a lid, as it is easier to get the dish in and out without maiming myself. There are fish steamers made for this, ceramic platter and all.  They look really nice for doing a whole fish.

Bring the water to a full boil before you start cooking.

Step 4. Assembly and Cooking.

Mix the fish and herbs in your platter or bowl.  Add a bit of fish sauce.  Any good fish sauce will do.  I prefer the brands that only have two ingredients- anchovies and salt, but lots of Vietnamese grandmas use the more common brands that have a yard long list of not-really natural ingredients, so what do I know?  If you taste the fish sauce (just a drop), you will get an idea about how salty it is, and how much you should add.  Each fish sauce is a bit different. Go easy on the stuff.  You can always add a bit more before serving.  Here, I am using about a tablespoon.

Place the bowl or platter in your steamer and cover.  Steam until the fish starts to flake.  This platter took about 8 minutes.  I like an internal temp right under 150F, before I pull the plate.  It will pick up a few more degrees, but won't dry out, due to the broth that forms.




Step 5. Serving.

Remove the bowl/platter from the steamer carefully.  There will be a wonderful broth at the bottom that has formed from the stream penetrating your ingredients.

Add some fresh herbs, maybe some black pepper and tomato slices, and serve in the same dish, family style.  The diners can add some extra herbs, a squeeze of lime, and spoon some of the broth over the fish plus rice or noodles.  I wouldn't use wheat noodles- rice noodles or glass noodles have a more neutral taste.

That's it.



As you can see, it is a humble dish, but I can't think of a better way to highlight the flavors of a really fresh, light-flavored fish.

My only advice on customizing this dish is not to go overboard on the flavorings- you want to taste the fish in all its glory.  So skip the soy sauce, oyster sauce, Sriracha, or whatever. I you must use the stuff, bring it to the table separately, so at least you can taste the dish before you ruin it.  My family likes steaming with ginger, and that is not too bad, but I still prefer to go  without it.  Less is more.

If you give it a try, please post your impressions.

-J

[quang tran]

I'm Vietnamese but never eat steam fish like this . Mostly steam whole fish with ginger ,onion stuff in belly .When done heated more ginger ,onion ,oil and soy sauce pour on top

[Gfish]

Looks great! Making me even more hungry at the lunch hour. I'd probably____it-up. I miss my dear-departed mother(in-law) who was a master-chef, IMO. She could imitate anything she tasted only once from a restaurant. Once I brought her a big Cabezon and she steamed it to perfection with ginger, green onion  and some other stuff I couldn't identify. She first saw that blue flesh color and I had to explain through my wife about fish in the Greenling family having that characteristic before I could get her to cook it.🤣

[jurelometer]

I'm Vietnamese but never eat steam fish like this . Mostly steam whole fish with ginger ,onion stuff in belly .When done heated more ginger ,onion ,oil and soy sauce pour on top

Interesting!

I always thought that was a Chinese recipe!  You can order this at most of the Chinese seafood restaurants around here.

I thought that the best known Vietnamese dish using this method is the one with lots of green onions, ginger, and sugar or caramel in the sauce.  Maybe dark soy sauce too?

The version that I learned is pretty much a variation of this well known dish that  removes the stronger added flavors so that you can taste the fish better.  The rau ram, tomatoes and kaffir lime leaves (more often used in Thai and Cambodian cuisine) were my personal additions because I had them around and think that they work well in the dish. I usually use whatever herbs that I have handy that I think will work. It is not an exact recipe.

As I noted before, it does work best with a whole fish, but is not bad at all with lingcod or halibut fillets.  Most of my American friends prefer fillets over whole fish.

-J

[quang tran]

I left VN when I was 20 years old and living 26 years in Chicago area before moved to Houston . So I don't know lots of dish in VN accept when my parent feed me . Fish steam as above is the one ,I cook for my kids that way and they still keep ask me to cook when I visit them . Some fish like rainbow trout only steam in 7 mins but walleye need to steam 10 mins ,speckle trout ( salt water ) steam 20 mins
 the food that we have to eat as a kid will become favorite when grow up . The caramel fish you talk about will slow cook in a clay pot , original they use snake head when I was a kid but now most people use catfish and I often cook it too

[jurelometer]

I left VN when I was 20 years old and living 26 years in Chicago area before moved to Houston . So I don't know lots of dish in VN accept when my parent feed me . Fish steam as above is the one ,I cook for my kids that way and they still keep ask me to cook when I visit them . Some fish like rainbow trout only steam in 7 mins but walleye need to steam 10 mins ,speckle trout ( salt water ) steam 20 mins
 the food that we have to eat as a kid will become favorite when grow up . The caramel fish you talk about will slow cook in a clay pot , original they use snake head when I was a kid but now most people use catfish and I often cook it too

The family recipes are always more interesting to me.

The claypot dish is a different one.  It is a classic! Interesting that snakehead was used more originally.  Thls dish is more of a braising than a steaming.  I used to make it with catfish every now and then. 

Let me look up the Vietnamese names  [pause]...

Catfish in a clay pot:  Cá Kho Tộ

Steamed Fish with Scallions : Cá Hấp Gừng Hành 

I  ran some of the Vietamese Cá Hấp Gừng Hành recipes through google translate.  None use caramel. All use sugar- my mistake there. Some finish with hot oil/garlic.  Maybe your family recipe is a derivation of this?

The other favorite fish dish for the Vietnamese side of my family is the tamarind fish soup:  Canh Chua Cá, but they only order it in the restaurant.  I have never seen it made at home.

This is fun! Thanks for sharing.

-J

[jgp12000]

This look great! I am going to start a new thread asking for recipes for khao phat.

[jgp12000]

We are trying this tonight with tilapia & herbs we already have,but we are fresh out of Rau Ram     will get some next time.Hopefully it will still be good or is that the key ingredient?

I read it tastes similar to cilantro, so we will try substituting a small amount as it can be overpowering.

[quang tran]

Fish normally eat with rau que (same when eat pho ) or mint not rau ram . My wife grow lots of these in garden

[jurelometer]

The key ingredients are fish sauce and a tasty fish in super good condition.  Preferably whole.  Haven't seen really good Tilapia in the markets around here, but I haven't looked for it either. I  rarely buy fish, so can't offer much here.  I would say that green onions are the important herb, the rest is preference if you are not trying to be a stickler about following tradition. 

If it is too plain for your taste, or this particular fish taste is not so special, you can still rescue it with Quang's hot oil/garlic/ginger overlay, and maybe a splash of oyster sauce. It just takes a couple minutes to make the up the hot oil part.

You could even make a Euro version in this method by using western herbs like flat-leaf parsley and mint and/or oregano.   The southern Europeans use salted anchovies (which also  ferment a bit during salting) in a very similar  way, so fish sauce fits right in.  Then maybe some lemon instead of lime.  Or a salmoriglio sauce at the table. It won't be remotely Vietnamese at this point, but I bet it would be tasty.  As I said in the original post, this is a method, not a recipe.

Fish normally eat with rau que (same when eat pho ) or mint not rau ram . My wife grow lots of these in garden

Agree. Stick with Quang's advice if you want to make it more traditionally Vietnamese.  Rau Que = Thai Basil.

 Thai basil is better than Italian basil for southeast Asian dishes, but you can sort of fake it with fresh Italian basil. I have seen Italian basil used at Thai restaurants in places where they had trouble getting fresh Asian herbs, and the dishes were still good.

Rau Ram is used in other seafood dishes, and I like it and have it in my garden, so I use it.

A bit more on Rau Ram:

Rau Ram is a pretty commonly used herb in many Southeast Asian countries.  If you have ever had the Malaysian Laksa soup, you will know the taste.  Rau Ram is the the star ingredient. I think that Laksa is the Bahasa name for this herb.

It is used in a bunch of Vietnamese dishes, including a clam salad that I am crazy about. I sometimes secretly pulverize a tiny bit of rau ram in a mortar when I am making fish sauce for the table (with lime, garlic, sugar and chilies), and haven't heard any complaints even though it is probably a sin of some sort

Let me know how you end up doing the fish and how it turned out.

-J

[reelynew]

I always thought that was a Chinese recipe!  You can order this at most of the Chinese seafood restaurants around here.

My mother-in-law is Chinese heritage born in Vietnam.  I remember she had cooked many dishes using this technique.  Thanks for sharing this method.  Brings back good memories. 

[quang tran]

 After all I find out if you have Asian lady you can spent more time and money in fishing

[jurelometer]

We are trying this tonight with tilapia & herbs we already have,but we are fresh out of Rau Ram     will get some next time.Hopefully it will still be good or is that the key ingredient?

I read it tastes similar to cilantro, so we will try substituting a small amount as it can be overpowering.

Didn't answer the taste part.

I doesn't taste like cilantro at all to me.  It has a distinct taste- very peppery plus something like a mint and citrus peel.  It can be a fairly strong on the palate, so I just use a small amount as a background herb unless it is supposed to star in the dish.  It reminds me of seafood, even though it doesn't taste like fish.  I used to call it fish weed before I knew what it was.

cilantro and green onions would be fine.

[jgp12000]

This is our attempt to duplicate with what we had on hand,it was good although I was out of fish sauce. It was a little bland to my liking. My wife liked the broth she does low carb mostly, but I had to have rice. It was a nice change to our normal fried or grilled .We buy some fish, but the freezer is full of fish from our pond.

[quang tran]

Look really good and healthy , I like rice too but don't eat for 2 years because diabetes