Cantonese Steamed Fish

When traveling in Hong Kong last year, Forge To Table founder, Noah Rosen, his partner Nic, and I traveled to La Ma Island for an escape from the city and some hiking in a scenic island separate from the main island. This island was known for its seafood, especially at Rainbow Seafood restaurant, where tanks of fresh seafood were available for selection and cooked in any way you would like it. 

We enjoyed all kinds of seafood before the hike and chill beach day, but one of the stars of the meal was a Chinese steamed fish. I knew I had to try and replicate it once I was back. What better time to make it than during Lunar New Year?

Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival (春节, Chūnjié), is the most significant and widely celebrated holiday in China. It marks the beginning of the lunar calendar and typically falls between late January and mid-February. The celebration lasts for 15 days, culminating in the Lantern Festival. Families gather to honor ancestors, exchange red envelopes (红包, hóngbāo) for good luck, and enjoy elaborate feasts filled with symbolic foods.

Food plays a crucial role in the Lunar New Year, with each dish carrying special meanings related to prosperity, happiness, longevity, and good fortune. One of the most iconic dishes is dumplings (饺子, jiǎozi), especially in northern China. Their shape resembles ancient Chinese gold ingots, symbolizing wealth and good luck. Some families even hide a coin inside a dumpling, bringing extra luck to whoever finds it.

Fish (鱼, yú) is another essential dish, as its pronunciation sounds like "surplus" or "abundance" in Chinese. It is often served whole to represent completeness and prosperity. The way the fish is eaten also matters—some families leave a portion for the next day to symbolize continuous prosperity.

Glutinous rice cakes (年糕, niángāo) are popular during the festival, as their name sounds like "higher year," representing growth, success, and wealth. These sticky, sweet cakes are made from glutinous rice flour and can be steamed or fried.

Spring rolls (春卷, chūnjuǎn), commonly eaten in southern China, symbolize wealth due to their resemblance to gold bars. These crispy, golden rolls are filled with vegetables, meat, or sweet bean paste and are a favorite New Year snack.

Longevity noodles (长寿面, chángshòu miàn) represent a long life and are served uncut to maintain their symbolic meaning. These noodles are often stir-fried or served in a broth, emphasizing health and longevity.

Other festive treats include tangyuan (汤圆), sweet glutinous rice balls enjoyed during the Lantern Festival, symbolizing family unity, and mandarins and oranges, which represent good luck and prosperity due to their bright color and round shape.

Through these traditional dishes, Lunar New Year in China is not just a time for feasting but also for reinforcing family bonds, expressing hopes for a prosperous year, and honoring deep-rooted cultural traditions.

If you’re new to steamed fish, it is very straightforward and simple! This quick marinade version with a fragrant and aromatic oil finish is perfect over rice or noodles. Be careful when heating the oil to the smoking point and make sure your serving platter is heat-proof (not plastic!). Enjoy!

Cantonese Steamed Fish

During the Lunar New Year, fish is an essential dish, as its Chinese pronunciation sounds like "surplus" or "abundance". It is often served whole to represent completeness and prosperity, and we dressed it up with lots of ginger, scallion, and other aromatics to make it the star of your dinner table!

Recipe and Photography by Sam Burgess

Forge To Table Knives

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 2-4

Ingredients:

• 1-½ - 2 pound whole fish (striped bass, snapper, etc) gutted, descaled, and fins removed

• 1 tablespoon garlic, sliced (4 cloves)

• 2 tablespoons ginger, chopped (2-inch piece)

• 3 each scallions whites, cut into 2 inches long pieces and sliced lengthwise

• 2 tablespoons Chinese cooking wine

• 3 each scallion greens, cut into 2-inch long strips, to support the fish while steaming

• 1 inch of ginger sliced thinly, to put in between the cuts of the fish while steaming

• 1 tablespoon ginger, julienned

• 2 each scallion, thinly julienned

• 1 tablespoon red pepper, thinly julienned

• 4 tablespoons of neutral oil, heated to smoking

• 4 tablespoons Japanese sushi soy sauce or light soy sauce

• Sliced radishes, for serving

• Steamed rice or noodles, for serving

• Steamed vegetables, for serving

Directions:

1. Ensure you have the freshest fish as it is the star of the dish. Use your Forge To Table 7-in-1 Titanium Kitchen Shears to remove the scales, the gills, the guts, and the fins. Rinse well. Alternatively, most butchers will do this cleaning for you. 

2. Using your Forge To Table Deba, slice a deep cut along the backbone and a free diagonal cut along the fillet which will allow even cooking. 

3. Place the fish in a large bowl with the sliced garlic, chopped ginger, sliced scallion whites, and Chinese cooking wine. Rub the aromatics and wine all over the fish and inside the body cavity. Let marinate for about 30 minutes.

4. Fill a steamer pot with water and bring it to a full boil. Remove all aromatics from the fish and use paper towels to dab it dry. Stick thinly sliced ginger into the slits along the filet. 

5. Place the scallion greens and some extra planks of ginger on a plate and place the fish on top of that to help with steam circulation. Put the fish into the steamer pot and steam on high heat. Timing is as follows: 1 lb 8 oz cook for 9 minutes; 1 lb 12 oz cook for 10 minutes; 2 lbs cook for 12 minutes.

6. When the fish is done steaming, turn off the heat. Don't open the lid immediately. Leave it in the steamer for a couple of minutes. Take it out and test it by poking a chopstick in the thickest part. It should go through easily with no resistance. 

7. Carefully transfer the fish to a clean plate. Put the julienned ginger, scallion, and red pepper on top of the fish. 

8. Heat 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a small skillet until smoking. Pour the oil over the julienned aromatics. Pour Japanese sushi soy sauce or light soy sauce over the whole fish. Serve with rice, steamed vegetables, and other side dishes. Enjoy!

Chef’s Notes:

• The freshest fish is best!

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