STEAMED SEA BASS WITH GINGER SPRING ONION

i really didn’t want to include this recipe in the book，only because i don’t thinkI nave ever seen a chinese cookbook without some variation on this dish why did i change my mind？Because someone recently asked me the hypothetical’If you were on death row，what would be your last meal？’，and my response，without hesitation，was’steamed sea bass with steamed jasmine rice.and so the recipe finds its way into yet another Chinese cookbook.One word of advice-there are many types of soy sauce available，but seafood soy sauce is the sort that goes best with this dish，especially with the added sugar

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

1 sea bass，about 900g，scaled，gutted and cleaned

50g fresh root ginger，peeled and thinly sliced

3 spring onions，finely sliced

5 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon seafood soy sauce mixed with 1/2 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons sesame oil

To garnish

coriander sprigs

sea beet（if available）

1.Stuff the inside of the fish with some of the ginger and spring onions

2.Make a bed of the remaining ginger and spring onions on a plate to accommodate the fish in your steamer basket and lay the fish on top

3.Steam over a high heat for 15 minutes or until the internal temperature of the fish reaches 60C

4.Remove the fish and set aside on a warmed long serving platter

5.Heat up the vegetable oil in a wok，and when it begins to smoke，pour it over the surface of the fish

6.Sprinkle over the soy sauce mixture and the sesame oil

7.Garnish generously with coriander，and sea beet if available，before serving

CHEFS TIP

Don’t fillet the fish before steaming；it is shooting yourself in the foot.Fish always tastes better when cooked on the bone，andit means less time and mess in prepping

hancheng

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