Teochew Steamed Fish

Teochew Steamed Fish is slightly sour and salty therefore so appetising that it keeps you hungry throughout the meal! Teochew Steamed Fish is like a combination of Salted Vegetable with Beancurd Soup and Steamed Fish.  Of course not so much of water involved, just enough to create some delicious sauce to top on steaming white rice.

A simple steamed fish the Chinese style may just have Xiao Xing wine and ginger – both being common ingredients in casting away the fishy smell of seafood dishes.  Teochew Steamed Fish recipe however, is improved with additional ingredients including salted vegetable, beancurd and tomato which enhance the taste to a different kind.  Pickled plums are commonly used for Teochew Steamed Fish however the Teochew Steamed Fish recipe below does not involve this ingredient.  I find it tastes just nice as it is

This Teochew Steamed Fish recipe uses pomfret but it also works well with other fishes such as seabass.  The advantage of using pomfret is that it is easy to handle even if you forgot to get the fish monger to help you.  All that is necessary to do is to remove those thin and tiny scales and clear its tummy and gill.  Normally fish monger at market would automatically do these for you or you can just ask – no extra charge.  How to know if the fish is fresh?  Look at the eyes – watery and transparent but may be a little bloody though.  Then press the cheek to see that blood still comes out from the gill.

For those who prefer some spiciness, adding some chillies to steam the fish will satisfy your taste bud but do not overdo as chillies may cover the overall taste of this Teochew Steamed Fish if too much is added.  Overall, all ingredients used in Teochew Steamed Fish recipe shared below are pretty common and easily available for sure.  You sure know where to get them.

Not much seasoning required in this Teochew Steamed Fish recipe as there is enough flavours from the ingredients.  Enjoy this appetising Teochew Steamed Fish!

Teochew Steamed Fish Recipe (Serves 2)

Ingredients:

Ingredients to steam with the fish

• 1 no. of medium size Pomfret ~250gm (scaled, cleaned)
• ½ tsp of salt (to marinate fish for few minutes)
• 1 no. of brick tofu – beancurd (cubed)
• ½ leaf of salted vegetable (shredded)
• 2 nos. of shallot (finely chopped)
• 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• 2” of ginger (finely chopped)
• 1 no. of tomato (sliced)
• 1 tbsp of Xiao Xing wine (Chinese wine)
• 2 tbsp of water
• 1 tsp of sesame oil

Optional:

• ¼ no. of red chilli (sliced)

Preparation:

Arrange ingredients in a deep plate and steam till fish is cooked

1. Make 3 slits on both sides of the fish and marinate the fish with salt for a minute or two.
2. Arrange all ingredients in a deep, metal or porcelain plate with the fish in the middle.  Make sure not too much ingredients on top or underneath the fish to avoid having uncooked parts.  Xiao Xing wine should be poured on the fish directly while water shall just be added to the side to prevent washing away the wine from the fish.
3. Steamed in steamer until the fish’s eyes bulge.  Poke the tip of a knife into the thickest part of the fish and make sure the knife comes out clean.
4. Ready to serve.

Teochew Steamed Fish

Asam Fish

You would think of spicy dishes when it comes to Malaysian dishes.  Curry and rendang dishes are some of the common ones but asam dishes should not be forgotten too.  Today we are cooking Asam Fish the Malaysian way!  You’ll learn how easy are spicy dishes and fish dishes.

Now, question marks float in your head when you look at the name of herbs and spices used in Asam Fish recipe.  I know…therefore I’ve got photo with name of ingredients labelled.  Don’t worry if you don’t know or never seen them before, they are easy to get from supermarket, mini market, sundry shop, morning/ night market stalls – especially those operated by Malay or Indian for they are the spicy dishes experts!  Just tell them what you need.

I’m using Malay names for these spices and herbs but just in case you’re more familiar with English names, they are enclosed in italic font in the Asam Fish recipe below.

ALL ingredients in Asam Fish recipe below are essential (please note, just in case you can’t find some of them) especially irreplaceable are daun kesum, bunga kantan, serai and asam jawa juice.  Em…ok, some may be reduced or replaced such as shallot and garlic which contributes to the sweetness of this Asam Fish dish, can be replaced with more chicken powder and sugar but really not advisable though.

For those who can’t take too spicy, I’ve made cili padi optional in this Asam Fish recipe.  So this Asam Fish recipe is only mildly spicy.  Add cili padi to get extra hot Asam Fish if so desired.

Follow this Asam Fish recipe closely, you’ll love it!

Assam Fish Recipe (Serves 3)

Asam Fish Ingredients

Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp of cooking oil
• 4 stalks of daun kesum (tied to knot) – Vietnamese coriander/ laksa leaf/ polygonum
• 1 no. of bunga kantan (halved) – wild ginger bud
• 2 tbsp of asam jawa (melted in 100ml of water for juice, strained off the residue) – tamarind juice
• 600ml of water
• 100gm of lady’s finger (sliced/ halved)
• 3 pcs of fish fillet (about 400gm)
• 1 no. of large tomato (wedged)

Ground Ingredients (combined):

• 2 tbsp of chilli paste
• 1 tbsp of fish curry powder
• 1 tbsp of chicken powder
• 5 nos. of shallots
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2” of ginger (sliced for ease of grinding)
• 3 nos. of buah keras (crushed) – candlenuts
• 2 stalks of serai (sliced for ease of grinding) – lemongrass

Optional:

• 50gm of cili padi (crushed/ ground)

Seasoning:

• 2 tbsp of sugar
• A pinch of salt

Asam Fish Ingredients

Preparation:

1. Heat cooking oil in a deep pan or wok.  Stir fry daun kesum, bunga kantan and ground ingredients till fragrant.
2. Add asam jawa juice.  Stir to mix and bring to simmer.
3. Add water and bring to boil.
4. Add lady’s finger followed by the fish.  Bring to boil then simmer.
5. Season with sugar and salt.
6. Toss in tomato wedges and stir to mix evenly.
7. Ready to serve.

Asam Fish Cooking Method

If you follow closely the Asam Fish recipe above, I bet even your pan will be licked clean at the end of the day.  Except for daun kesum and bunga kantan (unless you ground them as well and yes, you may do so).  Have a spicy day

Asam Fish