Steamed Soy Sauce Fish with Preserved Lemon

A hugely popular Cantonese dish for families. Fresh steamed soy sauce fish with ginger and preserved lemon. A Hugely Popular Cantonese Dish For Families.

This post is all about Cantonese Steamed SOY SAUCE Fish. A widely popular seafood dish among Chinese families, and restaurants. Fresh fish steamed with ginger and preserved lemon, then fried slightly with hot oil before serving. 

We got the step-by-step guide to making this delicious cantonese dish.

I'm a little tired of deep-fried whole fish, fake fish sticks, and over-grilled fish. This cantonese steamed soy sauce fish with preserved lemon is the best fall-off-the-bone fish recipe! It's healthy, flakey soft, and oh.em.gee. tasty. 

This healthy steamed soy sauce fish gives you all the essential nutrients you can only find in fish like omega 3, low-fat high-quality protein, and vitamins. It's a delightful family dish! What I love about this recipe is that it is a fall-off-the-bone steamed fish that is swimming in its golden brown broth with ingredients of ginger, scallion, and preserved lemon.

So grab a bowl of rice, and start digging into it. guarantee you'll want a second bowl of rice with this healthy steamed fish.

Hong kong Cantonese Fish

Fish in the Chinese culture represents abundance and increased prosperity. So to us, fish is an essential dish for New Year, birthdays, and anniversaries. 

In Hong Kong, fish is a very popular dish since back then, Hong Kong was a large fishing port and a world exporter of seafood. Hong Kong is a coastal city rich in resources from the sea, making fish an easy staple.

This Cantonese dish is a recipe used by my family back living in Hong Kong. They still use the same recipe today.

What makes this amazing and different about this fish dish is that we are using preserved lemon to salt and add a huge amount of umami flavour to the fish. The preserved lemon helps cut out that super fishy taste and you get the fresh fish taste without the pungent smelly kind.

We love steamed soy sauce fish much in our family. I know kids are never interested in eating fish unless it's a fish stick, but this recipe is so good my kids constantly ask for this recipe. They get very excited when they know I am making this Cantonese steamed soy sauce fish with preserved lemon. 

Why you will love this Cantonese steamed soy sauce fish with preserved lemon

• Moist, soft and fluffy texture - Steaming the fish guarantee a soft and flakey texture of the skin. Super moisture with tons of flavour. 
• Straight forward recipe - a relatively easy recipe with just a few things in mind. We got pictures and step-by-step procedures to create a no-fail recipe!
• No strong fishy taste - the preserved lemon helps cut out the oil fish taste, and soften the strong fish taste. This is a suitable recipe for children.
• Addictingly delicious - This fish tastes so good and probably there is no taste comparable to this recipe! By steaming the fish, it creates a beautiful thick lemon soup that is great on rice! This delicious gelatinous soup is so yummy you'll want a bowl of rice to go with this. 

Essential steps to getting that perfect restaurant-quality steamed fish. 

Here are the step-by-step notes:

1. Wash the fish inside and outside

My mom taught me there's a method to washing and prepare the fish. First, we descale it. All fish mongers you buy from will do this service for you. Make sure the belly of the fish is cleaned well and under the fins of the fish. 

2. How to wash the inside of the fish

Once you bring the fish home, and you open the belly, you will see there's a grey residue. This residue is what makes the fish have a strong distasteful smell and taste. It has a strong oily flavour. 

 You will need to wash it all. You will need to use your fingers to rub it off and even use the fingernails too. 

Once you open the fish and clean the stomach, there's another pocket to break open. Use a knife and cut the opening on the back and it will reveal another open and you can touch the spine of the fish by then. You're ready for the next stop.

3. Rub Preserved lemon inside and Outside of the fish

Take 1 tbsp of the salt and lemon to the chopping board. Chop finely of the lemon and rub and squish the lemon with your finger. Rub the salt and lemon inside the cavity of the fish. Also rub the salt outside of the fish and along the cuts along the fish. 

4. Add ginger to the cavity of the fish

Thinly chopped 1 inch of ginger. Discard the skin outside by scraping it off with a knife. Thinly sliced the ginger as thin as you can. place half of it inside the cavity of the fish.

 The other half will rest at the top of the fish while it is being steamed

5. Steam the fish

Once the fish is ready, place the fish in a heat-proof bowl or plate. You will need a dish with a dip so it catches the golden juice while it is being steamed. 

Use the steamer you're comfortable with and that also fits the fish.

I am using an Instant Pot to steam the fish. 

Instant Pot Steaming Instructions:

1. Add water to the pot (roughly about 2 cups) and place the steaming basket inside. Find a bowl or a deep dish that fits the fish, and inside the Instant Pot with enough area for the steam to vaporize up.

2. Set the mode to "Steam" for 20 minutes. Place the fish in the bowl with ginger on top of the fish. Close the lid and turn OFF the valve. 

3. Once the timer sets off, release the valve. 

6. Quick Oil Fry

Take the fish out and place thinly chopped scallion (green parts only) on top.

Meanwhile, heat 1/4 cup of oil on a pan until it starts to smoke. Place the fish in a sink or outside. Pour the hot oil on top of the green scallion. I recommend doing this step outside because the oil will bounce around and the air will be thick with smoke. 

Add 2 tsp of soy sauce on top of the fish, and some white peppers. Serve

Professional Tips for No-fail steamed soy sauce fish recipe

Tip #1: Add soy sauce at the end

Why are we adding soy sauce at the end? Because we want to keep the fresh soy sauce taste. Cooked and regular bottled soy sauce takes on a different taste depending on how you use it. We want to keep the "fresh" and "original" taste of soy sauce so we are adding it the last minute before serving. 

Tip #2: Serve Immediately

Steamed soy sauce fish should be served hot or warm. Never room temperature because steam fish creates a gelatinous soup at the bottom. When it reaches room temperature or colder, the gelatinous turns solid which is not that appetizing to look at. Therefore, always eat it warm.

Tip #3: Tilapia Fish Is The Best For This Recipe

Of course, you can use this recipe for any fish or even any parts. My economical mom sometimes will buy $2 fish head and make the same recipe. I personally feel the best fish to use for this recipe is tilapia or halibut (if you're willing to splurge). 

This post was all about Cantonese Steamed Fish. A widely popular seafood dish among Chinese families, and restaurants. Fresh fish steamed with ginger and preserved lemon, then fried slightly with hot oil before serving.