Steamed Mandarin Fish (Home-style)

Method

1. 01

   Step 1

   Clean the mandarin fish by gutting and washing it, scraping off the small scales, but be careful to leave the mandarin fish maw inside the belly, as it is edible.

   

2. 02

   Step 2

   Arrange the fish on a plate, sprinkle a little salt on top, and add chopped scallions and ginger slices to remove any fishy smell. You can arrange it like in my picture (make two cuts extending from both sides of the tail bone) or simply place it on a plate (suspend the fish under two chopsticks for even heating).

   

3. 03

   Step 3

   Put water in a pot, bring it to a boil, then add the mandarin fish.

   

4. 04

   Step 4

   After the water boils, steam over high heat for five minutes, then turn off the heat and let it sit for another five minutes. Note that fish cooks very quickly; if your fish is large, you can steam it for seven minutes, but no more than ten minutes.

   

5. 05

   Step 5

   Drain the water from the plate. If you prefer a simpler option, drizzle with steamed fish soy sauce and it's ready to eat. For a more elaborate version, while steaming the fish, prepare some shredded scallions, ginger, and dried chili peppers.

   

6. 06

   Step 6

   Heat oil in a wok until it smokes, then add shredded scallions, ginger, and dried chili peppers to the fish, pour the hot oil over it, and it's done. It was snatched up before I could take a picture.