Steamed fish | 清蒸鱼

in

1 1/2 lb whole fish (bass, trout, snapper, or other whitefish)

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 green onions, divided

1 tablespoon ginger

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine

1/8 cup chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons canola oil

5-6 Sichuan peppercorns

Make diagonal cuts one inch apart on both sides of fish. Coat with sesame oil and sprinkle with salt inside and out. Julienne green onions. Reserve 1/3 and set aside. Sprinkle rest of green onions over a heat-proof plate and lay fish across this bed.

In a separate bowl, mix together julienned ginger, soy sauce, and rice wine. Douse over fish, taking care to put ginger inside diagonal slits and inside cavity of fish. Steam fish in steamer or placed strategically in wok filled with water (as pictured) for 15-20 minutes.  

While fish steams, chop up cilantro. Heat up oil in pan with Sichuan peppercorns. Remove peppercorns before they burn. They are only for infusing some flavor into the oil. When fish is done steaming, sprinkle with cilantro and remaining green onions. Pour hot oil over the fish and serve immediately. 

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