It’s another one of those comfort dishes that I crave regularly. My mom used to make this, and it was my favorite fish & rice dishes.
The best part is that it’s so easy to make, when you’re in a time crunch and you need a simple dish then you should definitely keep this in mind.
I use a halibut steak in this case, but you can steam a cod steak or salmon steak. My mom traditionally would use salmon.
Ingredients
- halibut, 1 steak
- garlic, 2 cloves sliced thin
- ginger, 8 thin slices
- vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon
- soy sauce, 2 tablespoons
- water, 2 cups
- OPTIONAL: green onion for garnish
- OPTIONAL: cilantro for garnish
Tools
- 1 wok
- 1 wok cover
- 1 wok stand
- 1 metal steamer stand
- 1 medium dish (to hold steak & can fit in wok)
- 1 small frying pan
*if you have an alternative steaming method, feel free to use that!
Directions
Place wok stand on stove and the wok on top of the stand. Turn heat on high. Pour 2 cups water into the wok, and let it come to a boil, to create steam.
In the meantime, place your halibut steak on a dish. This dish must be able to fit on the metal stand, in the wok and under the cover, so it can be steamed properly.
The sliced garlic and ginger should be placed underneath and on top of the steak.
You can now take the metal steamer stand and put it in the wok, with the steak/dish on top of the stand.
Cover, and let cook for approximately 6-10 minutes. Keep an eye on it after 6 minutes as the cook time depends on the size of the steak.
I usually use a chopstick to poke at the steak to see if the inside has been cooked. In this case if the halibut is looking white inside and starting to flake it is ready.
When the halibut is just about ready to come off. Heat up the vegetable oil on a frying pan, until it’s got a little pop/sizzle to it.
Remove the halibut from the steamer, pour out any excess water that came from the fish.
Then pour the hot oil on the halibut, and then add the soy sauce.
Wok Steamed Fish COMPLETE!
Unicorn,
cat
3 comments
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September 3, 2010 at 4:22 pm
Paul Ingraham
Interesting step, pouring oil on the fish. It seems “right,” but I don’t really know why. Is it just that a little bit of searing it makes it tastier?
September 3, 2010 at 7:02 pm
Catherine Ganapathy
Great question! I had to go consult my mother to be sure.
The reason for pouring hot oil is to provide a smoother, or as my mother says ” more slippery”, texture to the fish.
The soy sauces makes it tastier, the hot oil provides a more appetizing texture.
She also informs me that before cholesterol became a concern, oil was used a lot more in her day. Nowadays, the amount of hot oil you pour is much less.
I would say ditto for the soy sauce too, the picture shown above has a lot more soy sauce then what the recipe calls for. I screwed up and poured too much!
Your question has turned into an education session for me, thanks Paul!
September 3, 2010 at 8:59 pm
Paul Ingraham
Thanks, Cat! I’m thinking the oil adds some flavour, too. It would be interesting to try different oils. I bet sesame or peanut oil would be awesome, for instance.