Steamed Silver Pomfret

清蒸鲳鱼

Steamed Silver Pomfret — Home-styleNingbo home cooking.

Ingredients

• whole silver pomfret (scaled, gutted, ~400 g)
• fresh ginger
• sesame oil
• light soy sauce

Instructions

1. Rinse pomfret and pat *very* dry inside and out. Make three shallow diagonal slashes on each side. Rub with ¼ tsp salt and 1 tsp Shaoxing wine. (No water beads remain on skin or gills.)
2. Stuff cavity with half the julienned ginger and 2 scallion whites. Place fish on a heatproof plate lined with ginger slices. (Ginger lies flat and evenly spaced on plate surface.)
3. Steam over high heat for 8 minutes (for 400 g fish) — timing is critical. Fish is done when flesh near bone is opaque and separates cleanly. (Flesh near dorsal fin turns from translucent pink to solid white.)
4. Discard cooking ginger and scallions. Top fish with remaining julienned ginger and all scallion greens. (Fresh ginger and scallions lie in neat, separate strands.)
5. Heat sesame oil in a small pan until fragrant (do not smoke). Drizzle warm oil and light soy sauce evenly over fish. (Oil glistens on fish surface; soy sauce forms thin, glossy film.)