Steamed Bream

Name: Steamed Bream
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 1 (net weight about 750 g) Fresh bream (scaled, gilled, gutted); 15 g Cooked ham slices; 2.5 g Fresh bamboo shoot slices; 25 g Rehydrated shiitake mushrooms; 10 g Pork fat cubes; 4 g Ginger slices; 3 g Minced ginger (for dipping); 5 g Scallion knot; 5 g Aromatic vinegar (dipping); 4 g Fine salt; 3 g MSG; 2 g Shaoxing wine; 2 g Scallion segments; 250 g Clear soup (for steaming)

Traditional Zhejiang steamed fish with an intact shape, tender flesh, savory aroma, and a clear, mellow broth.

35 min

Easy

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Ingredients

Fresh bream (scaled, gilled, gutted) 1 (net weight about 750 g)

Cooked ham slices 15 g

Fresh bamboo shoot slices 2.5 g

Rehydrated shiitake mushrooms 25 g

Pork fat cubes 10 g

Ginger slices 4 g

Minced ginger (for dipping) 3 g

Scallion knot 5 g

Aromatic vinegar (dipping) 5 g

Fine salt 4 g

MSG 3 g

Shaoxing wine 2 g

Scallion segments 2 g

Clear soup (for steaming) 250 g

Instructions

Prepare the fish

Scale and remove the gills of the bream, then slit open the belly to remove the entrails and rinse clean. Briefly blanch in a pot of boiling water, then lift out and scrape off the black membrane. Rinse again and score a straight crosshatch pattern along the back of the fish.

Arrange the dish

Place the fish in a deep plate. Lay the bamboo shoot slices, shiitake mushrooms, pork fat cubes, and ham slices over the fish in sequence. Add the fine salt, Shaoxing wine, and clear soup, then top with ginger slices and a scallion knot.

Steam

Steam over brisk heat in a steamer for 10 minutes. The fish is done once the eyes bulge out. Remove from the steamer, discard the scallion and ginger, and pour the original juices into a separate bowl for later use.

Plate the fish

Transfer the fish to a long oval plate. Add fine salt, MSG, and 70 g of boiling clear soup to the reserved juices in the bowl, adjust the seasoning to taste, then pour it over the fish.