Recipe: Steamed Salmon Cantonese Style

Credit: Courtesy Wild Ginger Restaurant

Make salmon like they do at Seattle’s famous Wild Ginger Restaurant

The freshest salmon will make this Cantonese-style steamed salmon dish irresistible

Ingredients

• 8 oz fresh salmon
• several thin slices fresh ginger
• 2 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine (available at specialty stores)
• 2 tbsp Thai fish sauce (available at specialty stores)
• 2-3 tbsp peanut oil
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 inches scallion (white part only) cut into fine julienne strips
• 2 sprigs cilantro

Instructions

1. For easy steaming, fashion two old chopsticks into an X by cutting a groove midpoint on one of them, and place them inside your wok.
2. Fill the wok with water to a level just below the chopsticks (should be about 3 cups of water).
3. Place the lid on the wok and turn the burner on high. 
4. Place the salmon in a Pyrex pie plate and cover the fish with the thin slices of ginger.
5. Pour the Shaoxing rice wine and Thai fish sauce over the salmon and ginger.
6. When the water has come to a boil, carefully remove the lid from the wok.
7. Place the pie plate on top of the chopsticks and replace the lid.
8. Steam for approximately 6 or 7 minutes or until a toothpick goes through the salmon easily.
9. After steaming, immediately transfer the salmon to a serving platter.
10. While the salmon is steaming, heat oil in wok or small skillet on high.
11. When oil is hot enough to make a small piece of garlic sizzle, add the whole clove and cook until browned.
12. Discard clove but do not turn off heat until you use the oil as it needs to be very hot to sear the fish.
13. Place scallion strips on top of the ginger on the fish, and pour the hot oil over it to sear it.
14. Garnish with whole sprigs of cilantro.

Recipe courtesy Wild Ginger restaurant, Seattle.