Chinese Steamed Fish Fillet

A Weeknight Take on a Classic

Growing up, Cantonese steamed fish was a mainstay of my family’s dinner table. I find myself craving those flavours frequently, but don’t want to go through the trouble of preparing a whole fish the old-fashioned way.

So meet my easy take on this time-honoured dish: Cantonese Steamed Fish Fillet.

This method takes the mess out of descaling and gutting the fish because you start with a boneless fillet. Then you dress it up with the same flavours as the original: aromatic ginger, garlic, scallions, infused into a light sweet soy sauce. And it’s much faster to cook than steaming a whole fish.

Serve with a bowl of steamed white rice, this healthy fish recipe is filling enough to stand on its own as a main, and light enough to serve as a side dish.

Ingredients

A few important notes on some of the ingredients used in this Chinese Steamed Fish Fillet recipe:

Scallions, Ginger, Garlic: These are like the trifecta of Chinese aromatics. Many traditional recipes for steamed fish leave out the garlic, but that’s just not cool. We think it tastes much better with garlic!

Oil: Critical for bringing out the flavours of the aromatics.

White Fish Fillets: Although tilapia is the standard for a Cantonese steamed fish, any firm white fish fillet will do. We usually just pick up whatever is on sale at Costco. Cod, sea bass, haddock, halibut, or rockfish are all good options.

Red Thai Chili Peppers: These little red peppers pack a punch and perk up the sauce, but feel free to leave them out if you don’t have any.

Seasoned Soy Sauce for Seafood: Can you believe we Chinese have an special soy sauce just for cooking fish? Seasoned soy sauce also known as seafood soy sauce doesn’t contain any seafood itself, but is formulated to pair perfectly with Chinese steamed fish.

That doesn’t mean you can’t use it for other dishes—notably, we use it in our Yau Mak (Chinese Lettuce) recipe.

If you don’t have seafood soy sauce, note that the fish will not turn out quite as aromatic.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Step 1. Cut scallions into 3-inch long segments and slice them in half lengthwise to make long strips. Julienne ginger into thin strips.

Step 2. Grab a heat-safe plate that’s small enough to fit in your wok or saucepan, but big enough to hold the fish. Put fish on the plate and top with half of the scallions and ginger.

Step 3. Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in the wok/saucepan. When the water begins to simmer, put the plate on a trivet and lower it into the wok. Cover and steam until cooked, then remove the plate and trivet from the wok and set aside.

Step 4. Mince garlic and peppers. Dry the wok and return it to the stove on medium heat. Add oil and fry the minced garlic, chili peppers, and the remaining half of the scallions and ginger just until fragrant.

Step 5. Pour in the seasoned soy sauce and let it bubble for half a minute, then pour the entire mixture over the steamed fish.

Step 6. Flake off a piece of fish with your chopsticks, dip it in the soy sauce, and eat with a sliver of scallion in each bite—this is the way!

Hint: The leftover fish-infused soy sauce tastes heavenly when mixed into steamed white rice.

Storage Tips

We recommend serving these Chinese Steamed Fish Fillets immediately for the best flavour. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to four days.

This recipe doesn't stand up well to freezing.

More Recipes Using Fish Fillets

Looking for other recipes that use boneless fish fillets? Try these: