Steamed coral trout - Cá hấp
Prep time 30 mins
Cook 1 hr
Serves 2–4 as part of a shared meal
3
"There are a couple of key things to remember with steamed fish," says Thi Le, author of Viet Kieu . "Whole fish is preferable for flavour, but otherwise I prefer cutlets over fillets. Use fresh fish – I cannot stress this enough. If you can’t find coral trout, substitute another white, firm-fleshed fish with good fat content: kingfish, Murray cod, rock cod or barramundi. Do not use salmon or ocean trout."
100g (3½ oz) dried glass noodles
30g (1 oz) dried wood ear mushrooms
30g (1 oz) dried lily flowers (see note)
1, 800 g whole coral trout; (1 lb 12 oz) if you like, ask your fishmonger to scale and clean the fish for you before taking it home
70 g (2½ oz) ginger, peeled and julienned
3 spring onions (scallions), whites cut into 5 cm (2 inch) batons, greens reserved
Handful of coriander (cilantro) sprigs, to garnish
SAUCE
80 ml (1/3 cup) shaoxing wine
50 ml (1¾ fl oz) oyster sauce
30 ml (1 fl oz) soy sauce
25 ml (¾ fl oz) sesame oil
GARLIC OIL
100 ml (3½ fl oz) sunflower oil
50 g (1¾ oz) garlic cloves, minced
1. Soak the dried ingredients. Soak the glass noodles in cold water for at least 20 minutes or until ready to use.
2. Meanwhile, in separate small bowls, soak the wood ear mushrooms and lily flowers in enough warm water to cover for 15 minutes. Drain them both, then take the lily flowers and tie knots in each individual strand. Set aside.
Steam the fish
3. Clean and scale the fish, if your fishmonger has not already done this for you. Using a sharp knife, score the fish by making three incisions, about 5 cm (2 inch) deep, on both sides.
4. Line a large sheet of foil with baking paper. Place the fish on top. Place the ginger and the white spring onion batons inside all the fish incisions.
5. Mix all the sauce ingredients together and pour the sauce over the fish. Seal the foil into a parcel around the fish.
6. Half-fill a wok or large saucepan with water and place over high heat. Place a steaming basket inside the wok, or on top of the saucepan, and put the lid on. When the water starts boiling vigorously, place the foil-wrapped fish in the steamer basket and put the back lid on. Steam the fish over high heat for 30 minutes, taking care to top up the water level when it gets low. (Alternatively, you can place the foil-wrapped fish in a baking dish and bake in a preheated 200°C/400°F oven for 50–60 minutes.)
7. Drain the glass noodles and place in a heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water and leave for about 5 minutes, or until cooked. Rinse and drain.
8. Unwrap the fish and check it is cooked – it should come away from the bone quite easily. When the fish is cooked, place the glass noodles on top and steam for a further 1–2 minutes.
Prepare the garlic oil and garnishes
9. Just before serving, add the oil and garlic to a small saucepan and fry over medium heat for a few minutes, until the garlic starts to turn colour. Turn off the heat.
10. Using a sharp knife, julienne the reserved spring onion greens, then place in the ice bath until they curl; this will take less than a minute.
11. To serve, remove the fish from the steamer and unwrap it. Garnish with the green spring onion curls and coriander and pour the hot garlic oil over. Serve with hot steamed rice.
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
NOTE Dried lily flowers are available from Asian supermarkets and grocers
Images and text from Viet Kieu by Thi Le with Jia-Yen Lee, photography by Mark Chew. Published by Murdoch Books.
