Chinese · Cantonese · main

Steamed Sea Bass with Ginger and Spring Onion (Qing Zheng Yu)

Steamed Sea Bass with Ginger and Spring Onion (Qing Zheng Yu) reads salinity 5.4, umami 5.4 and sweetness 4.0 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Chinese · Cantonese main, about 21 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Salinity 5.4 · Umami 5.4 · Sweetness 4.0 · Nutty 3.9 · Funk & Ferment 3.3 · Richness 3.2 · Herbaceous 3.1 · Allium 2.9 · Warm Spice 2.5 · Floral 1.8 · Citrus 1.4 · Earthy 1.0 · Heat 0.7 · Bitterness 0.7 · Sourness 0.7

What's in it (12)

Time & effort: about 21 min · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 34.2 kcal, 1.7 g protein, 0.7 g fat, 6.5 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

  1. Score the fish twice on each side down to the bone, rub it inside and out with the salt and Shaoxing wine, and leave 10 minutes. Pat dry.
  2. Lay the whole spring onions and the ginger coins on a heatproof plate and set the fish on top. Raising the fish off the plate lets steam circulate underneath so it cooks evenly, and keeps it out of the liquid that collects.
  3. Set the plate in a steamer over furiously boiling water, cover, and steam on the highest heat you have: 8 minutes for a 700 g fish, and about 1 minute more for each additional 100 g. It is done when a chopstick slides into the thickest part behind the head and the flesh there is just opaque and parts in clean flakes. A minute too long ruins a good fish.
  4. While it steams, warm the soy sauce, sugar, water and white pepper together until the sugar dissolves, and keep it hot.
  5. Lift the plate out and pour off every drop of the cloudy steaming liquid, which is fishy and will spoil the sauce. Discard the cooked aromatics and scatter the ginger needles and spring onion needles over the fish.
  6. Heat the peanut oil until it shimmers and just begins to smoke, about 200 C, and pour it over the aromatics so they hiss and release their scent. Pour the warm soy mixture around the fish rather than over it, so the flesh stays clean-looking, add the sesame oil and coriander and take it straight to the table.
  7. Substitutions: grey mullet can stand in for the whole sea bass.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.