Steam & Spice

Spice Temple Executive Chef, Andy Evans shares his tips on steaming fish and and a delicious steamed fish recipe.

Steaming Tips

Choose a bamboo steamer and lid from your local Asian supermarket that fits just over a saucepan you already have at home. The steamer should fit just over the lip of the pan so that you don’t lose too much steam outside the basket. Metal or glass steamers can be used; however, bamboo is the most effective and food steamed within bamboo tastes much better than anything else.

You can steam multiple elements of a meal at one time, using tiered baskets. Let’s say you are steaming, fish and vegetables; you will need two baskets. Find a plate with high sides that fits inside the basket with plenty of room around it. This style of plate and spacing will allow you to add sauce to your protein without it running off the plate and into the water below; it also makes the removal of the plate from the steamer much easier.

In the bottom tier of the steamer you will be cooking the protein. Place a fish fillet (Blue Eye, Coral Trout) onto a heat-proof plate. Pour your sauce over the top. A classic combination is salted black beans, ginger slices, white sugar, and Shaoxing wine (all available in Asian supermarkets). Place the plate into the bottom basket, pop the lid on the steamer and set it onto a pot of boiling water. Then turn the heat down to ¾ of the maximum of the burner/ hob; this means your fish cooks slowly and there is less chance of the fish being overcooked, without taking forever to cook. Remember, at full power the steam being generated is 100°C, which is enough to easily overcook your protein.

After around 7-8 minutes of steaming you are ready to cook the vegetables, such as bok choy/pak choy, which you will have washed in cold water and drained. Arrange them evenly in the second steamer basket, with the lid on. Carefully remove the lid from the basket containing the fish, then place the basket of vegetables on top of the fish. Steam for another 3 minutes and the vegetables should be cooked.

To check if the fish is ready (remember it will keep cooking on the plate) insert a metal cake tester, or skewer, into the fillet for 3 seconds, remove it and check if it’s warm. If so, remove the both tiers of steamer baskets and set onto the bench. Remove the greens from the basket, pop onto a serving plate, and season with some light soy and sesame oil. The fish can then be garnished with sliced shallots and served.

I don’t remove the fish from the steamer, it looks great as a serving dish, and you don’t have to worry about removing a hot plate from the basket. Secondly, if you really want to show off, take hot oil out to the table (taking extreme care!), lift the lid of the steamer basket and slowly pour the oil over the shallots on the fish. The smell is incredible.

You can take your steaming to another level by substituting different proteins, such as chicken thigh, whole prawns or even whole crabs. The process is exactly the same, just the flavours of your sauce will change, and cooking times will vary.