Baked 'steamed' fish

No access to a steamer nor a wok to fit your steamer rack stand to steam a whole fish for your family dinner? Use an oven! But how?

All you need is a baking dish, baking paper/foil and an oven as your 'steamer'.

Baking dish

I used a 44.5 x 29 x 5 cm/10 x 14 inch baking dish for 2 whole sea bream fish.

Then, I placed a sheet of baking paper that can cover the inner walls of the baking dish and to prevent the sauce from the fish from leaking.

Place another baking sheet on top of the bottom baking sheet.

44.5 x 29 x 5 cm/10 x 14 inch baking dish

Place your fish on top of the top baking sheet. Add ginger, garlic, soy sauce and some water.

Types of fish

You can use any type of whole fish or fish fillets for this recipe. For fish fillets, the cooking time can be shorter as in 15 minutes, so be sure to check if the fish is cooked by poking a fork through the meat. If the the fish flakes easily after inserting a fork, it's cooked.

Water

I added some water on the fish to avoid dryness

Placing minced garlic and ginger matchsticks around the fish

Then place another baking sheet on top of the fish and fold the edges together as shown in the video below:

Bake it for 20 minutes in the oven at 200C. Once it's one, you will have a steamed fish ready!

Sauce

While the fish is in the oven, you can use the time to make some extra sauce for the fish which will be worth it as the sauce adds more flavour for when you eat the fish with rice. Simmer 4 tbsp of water, 1 tbsp soy sauce,1 tbsp Shaoxing wine, 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar and 1 stalk of diagonally sliced spring onions.

Once the fish was done baking, I transferred the fish onto another baking dish and poured the sauce on top.

Note, there will be some remaining sauce from the baking sheet so you can pour some of that sauce on the fish too!

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This recipe serves 4

Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 whole sea bream fish

8 cloves garlic

1/4 cup of julienned ginger

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp water

Sauce:

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp Shaoxing wine

1/2 tbsp rice vinegar

4 tbsp water

1 large stalk of spring onion

Method:

1. Minced the garlic cloves and julienne ginger.

2. Place 2 sheets of baking paper on a baking dish that can fit the size of your fish. There should be at least an inch space between your fish and with the walls of the baking dish.

3. Place your fish on top of the top baking sheet then evenly distribute the minced garlic julienned ginger, soy sauce and 2 tbsp water around the top and bottom of the fish.

4. Then place another baking sheet on top of the fish and fold the edges together as shown in the video above.

5. Bake it for 20 minutes in the oven at 200C.

6. While the fish is in the oven, make the sauce. Diagonally slice a stalk of spring onion. Boil the liquid ingredients until it comes to a simmer then add in the diagonally sliced spring onions.

7. Pour the sauce all over the cooked fish and serve with white rice.

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