How to steam fish with soy sauce: juicy flesh, fragrant ginger and spring onion, no fishy smell

Steamed fish with soy sauce depends on a fresh fish, neat preparation and exact timing. This recipe, for a whole fish of 900 g to 1.1 kg, keeps the flesh juicy, pours away the fishy liquid that comes out during the first steaming, and only then finishes it with a soy sauce and hot oil fragrant with ginger and spring onion.

Quick facts

• Serves: 4 people.
• Preparation: 30 minutes.
• Steaming: 12-18 minutes depending on thickness.
• Difficulty: medium.
• Equipment: a steamer wide enough and a heatproof plate.

Ingredients

• 1 sea bass, grouper or red tilapia of about 1 kg.
• 40 ml of soy sauce, 20 ml of fish sauce optional.
• Ginger, spring onion, shallot.
• Chilli and coriander.
• Sugar, pepper, sesame oil and cooking oil.
• Light stock or hot water.

Choosing the ingredients decides the quality

A fresh fish has clear eyes, red gills, scales that hold, a springy body and a light sea smell. Choose one that fits the plate, with a fairly even thickness. The soy sauce should be balanced rather than very salty; mature ginger is fragrant and the spring onion should still be firm.

Prefer ingredients with a clear origin, still within their date and kept at the right temperature. Frozen food should be thawed in the fridge, in the microwave or under cold running water, not left on the worktop for hours. Vegetables eaten raw must be washed under clean running water, drained and kept apart from raw meat and fish.

Preparing and laying out before you turn on the heat

Scale the fish, remove the gills and guts, scrape out the black membrane in the belly, rinse it quickly and pat it thoroughly dry. Make two or three shallow cuts in the thick part. Tuck a little ginger and spring onion into the cavity and lay the fish on two lengths of spring onion so the steam can pass underneath; keep the shredded spring onion for the garnish in cold water so it curls.

Weigh the seasonings into small bowls and keep the utensils for raw and cooked food in two separate areas. Have a clean plate ready for the finished items; never put cooked food back on a plate that has held raw meat or seafood. Read all the steps through first, so the parts that have to be done quickly are not interrupted.

Step 1: get the steamer fully hot

Bring the water to a hard boil before the fish goes in. The plate must not block the steam path and the water must not touch the base of the plate. Weak steam lengthens the time, makes the fish give off more liquid and brings out the fishy smell.

Step 2: steam according to thickness

Put the plate in, cover it tightly and steam over a medium-high heat. For a fish of about 1 kg, start checking at 12 minutes: the thick part turns opaque, separates easily and reaches 63C. Do not steam it longer just to be safe, because the flesh dries out.

Step 3: pour away the first steaming liquid

Lift the plate out carefully, pour away the cloudy liquid that has come out and remove the used ginger and spring onion. Work quickly and keep the fish whole. This step makes the sauce taste cleaner, but it is no substitute for choosing a fresh fish.

Step 4: finish the soy sauce

Heat the soy sauce with the stock, sugar and a little sesame oil to a gentle simmer, taste it for a mild saltiness and pour it around the fish. Arrange the shredded ginger, spring onion and chilli on top. Do not pour cold sauce over, which cools the fish and dulls the aroma.

Step 5: pour over the hot oil and serve

Heat a small amount of oil until hot, pour it over the ginger and spring onion to release the aroma, then add the coriander. Serve at once while the fish is hot; lift the flesh along the grain rather than stirring it, which breaks it up.

Small tips that make the dish more consistent

1. Scrape out the black membrane in the belly.
2. Pat the fish dry.
3. Score the thick part shallowly.
4. Bring the steamer to the boil first.
5. Prop the fish up so steam passes underneath.
6. Time it by thickness.
7. Take the temperature at the thickest point.
8. Pour away the first steaming liquid.
9. Pour the sauce over while it is hot.
10. Pour over a little oil just before serving.

Every kitchen has a different hob power, pan thickness and level of moisture in the ingredients. The times are therefore only a reference; judge by colour, smell, tenderness, the rate of evaporation and the core temperature together. Note down the amount of liquid, the size of the equipment and the actual timings so it is easier to repeat next time.

Common mistakes and how to rescue the dish

The fish is still raw near the bone

Steam it for another 2-3 minutes and measure again until it reaches 63C; do not pour on the sauce and eat it before then.

The flesh is dry

The fish was steamed too long. Add more of the hot, lightly seasoned sauce; next time check earlier and turn it off as soon as it reaches temperature.

The sauce is too salty

Dilute it with hot stock and a little sugar; do not pour cold water straight onto the fish.

There is a clear fishy smell

The fish was not fresh enough, the belly membrane was not cleaned properly, or the steamer was not hot enough. Do not try to cover an abnormal smell with ginger.

A systematic way to taste and adjust

Taste a spoonful that has both liquid and a representative piece of the ingredients, let it cool for a few seconds and then work out whether the dish is short on salt, sweetness, acidity, richness or aroma. Change only one element at a time and wait until the seasoning has dissolved completely before tasting again. Fish sauce, salt, sugar and acid should go in a small amount at a time; this is far safer than trying to fix everything in one go.

If the dish is too salty, the real answer is to add suitable unsalted ingredients or liquid; adding sugar only masks the sensation and does nothing to the sodium. If it is too sweet, increase the liquid slightly and rebalance the salt before adding acidity. If the spices are harsh, take the solids out and let the dish rest rather than carrying on cooking it for a long time.

Controlling the heat and the equipment

The equipment has to suit the quantity: too wide a pot boils the liquid away quickly, too small a pot leaves the ingredients piled on top of each other, and a thin pan creates hot spots that burn. Heat it in a controlled way, watching the sizzle, the size of the bubbles and the rate of evaporation rather than just the position of the dial. When you need to top up a hot dish, use hot water so the cooking is not interrupted.

A food thermometer is a useful checking tool. Put the probe into the thickest part, away from bone and the base of the pan, and clean it before and after each reading. Poultry needs to reach 74C, minced meat 71C and fish 63C; for a dish where a direct reading is not practical, make sure every raw component is cooked through and the dish is held at a safe temperature.

Scaling the recipe up or down

Two fish should be steamed on two tiers with enough space, or in two rounds; do not stack the plates and block the steam. Each fish has to be checked for temperature separately.

When you double the recipe, use wider equipment or work in batches so the food meets the heat in the same way as in the original recipe. Start strong seasonings at about 1.7 times and taste again, because the surface area for evaporation does not scale linearly. When you halve it, switch to a smaller pot to keep the depth of liquid and stop it drying out too quickly.

A schedule so the dish is ready on time

The stock, the base sauce and anything that needs marinating can be done in advance, following the storage guidance. The herbs, the frying, grilling, griddling and the assembly should be left until close to the meal. If you are cooking several dishes, work backwards from serving time: leave whatever has to be crisp or hot until last, and finish the cold work and the preparation first.

While you cook, clear away any utensil that has touched raw food straight away, change a dirty cloth and keep the worktop dry. For each batch, use the same ladle or weigh the portions so the results are even. Never taste with a spoon and then put that spoon back into the pot.

Serving and presentation

Put the whole fish on a moderately deep plate, with the ginger and spring onion on top and the sauce around it. Serve with hot rice and boiled vegetables, and a separate spoon for the sauce.

Warm the plates or bowls for a hot dish and chill them for a cold dessert. Leave some space around the food so the main components are easy to see. Herbs, nuts, fried shallots or a finishing sauce should only go on just before serving, to keep their colour and texture.

Preparing ahead and storing

Steamed fish is at its best straight after cooking. Take any leftovers off the bone, chill them within 2 hours and use them within 3-4 days; reheat to 74C by gentle steaming or in a covered microwave.

Cooked food should not stay at room temperature for more than 2 hours, or more than 1 hour when the surroundings are above 32C. Divide leftovers into shallow containers so they chill quickly and use them within 3-4 days; when reheating, bring the whole portion to 74C. Only reheat what you are going to eat, and throw away anything with an odd smell, sliminess or other unusual sign rather than tasting it.

Allergy and safety notes

The fish, the fish sauce and the soy in the soy sauce are the main allergens, and some soy sauces contain wheat. Anyone with an allergy should not share the sauce or the utensils.

Pregnant women, young children, older people and anyone with a weakened immune system should eat food that is cooked right through, and should be especially careful about cross-contamination. Read the label on packaged seasonings, as fish, crustaceans, soy, wheat, egg, milk, sesame or peanut can appear in ready-made sauces.

A checklist for the finished dish

• The raw components have reached a safe temperature with no undercooked areas left.
• It smells as it should, with no old oil, burnt or oddly sour note.
• Salt, sweetness, acidity and richness are balanced when tasted at eating temperature.
• The main texture is what you were aiming for: tender without falling apart, crisp without being raw.
• The serving plate and the tongs are clean and have not touched raw food.
• The garnish went on close to serving time and the allergens have been announced.