Steamed Fish

Bill Leung’s selected Cantonese steamed fish uses a haddock fillet with ginger, scallions and cilantro. He places the dish both on home dinner tables and among the closing courses of Chinese wedding banquets.

The aromatics are cut into thin pieces, with about a third held aside for the finished fish. Light soy sauce, salt, sugar and a small retained hot-water quantity mix separately into the own sauce.

The fillet steams on a heatproof plate above a separate water supply. Liquid collected on the plate is drained away before the reserved raw aromatics are spread over the cooked fish.

Vegetable oil fries the remaining ginger, followed by the remaining scallions and cilantro. The soy mixture joins them and briefly bubbles until the herbs wilt, then pours over the fish.

Leung serves the sauced fillet immediately with separately prepared white rice. The combination of fresh and cooked aromatics gives the selected version its layered ginger and herb fragrance.