STEAMED SEA BASS

Steaming, a cooking method believe to date back way before the discovery of fire, when foods were cooked over hot springs or stones, is now as popular as ever. Oriental cooking has always made great use of steaming as a main cooking method, both for health reasons and because ovens are very rare to Chinese. Many foods are steamed, rather than baked, as for example rice, being perfect for this. Chinese have used steaming method for at least 3000 years or more, with early steamers being made in stoneware and originating in the province of Yunnan. Suitable for most foods and a surprising variety of recipes, steaming has great advantages over other cooking methods. A far higher level of nutrients, vitamins and minerals is retained than by other cooking methods. Steam cooking reduces Vitamin C in vegetables by 40% whereas boiling reduces it by 70% because it is lost in the cooking water. Steaming also does not immerse foods in water into which nutrients, particularly in vegetables, can escape. Foods are generally more nutritious when steamed, and as additional fat is not required for cooking it’s also healthier and lower in fat. The most popular and the quickest method for cooking meat, fish, vegetables, fruits and light desserts, is to suspend over boiling water, cover tightly and cook in the steam. Ensure the lid fits well to prevent the steam escaping and thus prolonging cooking time.

A meal of Chinese steamed fish is very common in some Cantonese households. A white fish is steamed, then topped with green onion, ginger, soy and hot oil. My mum loved to cook this dish for us back then. Pompret is my mum favourite fish. I havent taste my mum's pompret ever since i move out from the house when i was 17. I remember very well she would steamed a piece of pompret when i was ill, with light porridge to goes with it. I havent had pompret for so so long time and its so hard to find one which is at least 50% fresh in the market. Though it is the simplest of many memorable dishes, the steamed fish stuck with me because of my mum and from what she always told me last time, fish is good for health. It is so cheap to DIY rather then to order one in the restaurant to be frank.

Sea bass is the most common, affordable and fresh fish I can find here in UK and very suitable to have it steamed. It's roughly 3 big pieces of sea bass for 10 quid. If getting one in the restaurant it will be at least 15 quid for one of this dish. Get a fresh piece from the local fishmonger. Choose those with bright eyes and shiny skin. Don't buy it if it doesn't meet this criteria. The fishmonger will be happy to clean, gut and de-scale the fish but sometimes I'd rather to clean it myself as the fishmonger might destroy rather than gut my fish efficiently.

Ingredient :

Fresh whole sea bass

Spring onions (one small bunch)

Ginger

Soy sauce

Sesame oil

Salt

Coriander

Rub a generous amount of salt into the fish skin.

Sprinkle sesame oil on top.

Cut ginger into sizes of strips. Stuff it into the fish and on top of it.

Cut the spring onion into inch long.

Steamed the sea bass for 10 minutes. Check for doneness by poking the flest with chopstick at the thickest point, if the flesh flakes off easily then it is done.

Discard the fishy and cloudy fish water after steaming. It doesn't add any flavours to the steamed fish but only leave a bitter and fishy taste - from the fish guts if the fish was not cleaned properly.

Heat a pan up to a very high temperature. Pour some olive oil into the pan and let it heat up. Remove the oil from heat and pour it onto the fish before adding the soy sauce. Toss the spring onions and coriander all over the fish.