Cooking: Week 2 - Chinese - Chinese Steamed Trout

Week: 2
Theme: Chinese
Dish: Chinese Steamed Trout

Hi everyone! This week's theme is Chinese. I'm Chinese so this theme has a special place in my heart. I had a lot of ideas on what I should make, wontons, congee, spare ribs, but I decided to go with something that I always crave when I go back to my mom's house: steamed fish. I think steaming gets a lot of flack in the US because people think it doesn't add any flavor, but Chinese people take steaming to a whole new level.

Anyways, I used Steamy Kitchen's Chinese Steamed Fish recipe. I didn't follow it exactly, but Chinese food is usually made without exact measurements. I also used a steamer that Ofer's sister had given us (thank you Aya!) but we hadn't had a chance to use it. It's perfect because I don't have any pots big enough to steam my fish in.

I also took out the cooking wine part because the steamer wouldn't be able to hold that liquid. I think it turned out fine without it and my mom doesn't use it either.

They smelled heavenly already at this point!

The prep was relatively easy. We bought our trout at Costco and it came in a pack of 4. They had already been cleaned, gutted, and descaled. Luckily, our steamer was able to fit two fish perfectly.

Steaming in action!

At this point, we were super excited.

Fish after the steam bath.

We had to move the fish into a baking dish because we didn't steam it in a pan. I think because of the shape of the baking dish, the soy sauce didn't nicely penetrate the fish as well. Also, I didn't double the sauce recipe, which I should have done since I was making two fish.

Saucy fishes!

Microwaving the sauce was pretty quick and easy. It smelled oh so good!

After the hot oil bath!

In the original recipe, she said that you should able to hear the sizzle on the fish after dumping the oil on it, but I didn't get that. Not sure why. It did sizzle like crazy in the wok though. Maybe I need a different oil (I used canola) or heat it up a bit more.

Sorry for the blurry pic, but you can see how flaky the fish is!

I couldn't resist showing you guys how flaky the fish was. It wasn't dry at all.

We ate it with rice! Naturally.

Verdict: It was really tasty! Pretty close to what my mom does with her fish. We made two fish for two people but one was enough to fill us up. My mom usually cooks one fish for a family of 6, but we have some other dishes along side it. I think one fish is good for just a meal with two if you don't plan on having other meat dishes. I wish we had made a vegetable dish, but I didn't feel like making more food that wouldn't be eaten.

The trout is more firm than some of the other fishes that my mom makes. But I found the meat to still be sweet and flavorful. It's not too "fishy". I really liked this recipe and even though it was my first time make it, it came out really well. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to try it.