Looks delicious. I do this all the time and it is a fast way to make fish. Gummy sweet rice, a hot oil sauce (oil, chiles, whole garlic, star anise and coarse salt slow cooked for about 1hour), crunchy veggies and dinner is served.

Oh, thank you!

My grandmother is no longer with us (she lived to 104!), but I can ask you!

What fish do you like best for steaming? Do you make other sauces, sometimes? Do you ever fill the cavity/stuff the fish? Any luck quickly broiling the fish after steaming to crisp the skin?

Use firmer flesh fish for better results.my family always enjoyed a rcioe like this, you steam fish and the pour seasoned boiling hot oil over it, delicious, black cod is classic for this dish, http://thewoksoflife.com/2015/05/steamed-whole-fish/

Your detailed cooking adventures are fascinating! The family stories you have shared are wonderful. Your children seem so happy and productive, they give me hope for coming generations. ;-)

I grew up with whole steamed fish too; my parents made it a bit more basic, no hot sauce or sweetener and they julienned the green onions and ginger for the top. What kind of oil do you use to finish it off? I think peanut oil is preferred, but I never have any of that around.

These days, I rarely prepare fish this way and if it is prepared whole, I portion it out before serving. I remember when I was a newlywed, I prepared rainbow trout this way for my husband (who is not Chinese), and he was quite aghast that the head was still on his food. He remarked, "Donna, what am I supposed to do with this, it's staring at me."

Fish heads do bother many people!. It's the eyes, mostly. Cover the eyes with a slice of lemon or something.

I used olive oil with sesame oil and siracha sauce. That's just what I had handy.

John Lui,

I use any firm white whole fish I can find. I love Bronzino. My local fish monger also always has black cod which is just decadent. The black cod is never whole. I have also done this with large pieces of salmon. I have firmed the skin by scalding with hot oil. I find that this is more theater than actually more flavor inducing. I make tons of sauces. I love XO sauce but have a slight allergy to shrimp so make it with anchovies instead. I love any spicy sauce that I can come up with:-)

I stuff the fish with thinly shaved ginger, garlic, lemongrass stalks and chives. Usually what ever I have growing in the herb garden. I will take a picture next time I make fish.

I personally love fish eyes:-)

I have not steamed fish, but I do have a rather large fish poaching pan (made in Italy) that I use for whole salmon. I think poaching is somewhat similar to steaming, but what I like best about poaching salmon is the fish stock that I get from it. I use Julia Child's recipe for poaching salmon, and the only problem with it is that all the flavor goes into the stock, and so the fish is rather bland after being poached. However, I make a nice sauce with some of the strained stock, which I thicken with corn starch.

I have several Chinese cookbooks - mostly Szechuan, and the fish recipes are mostly for fried fish rather than steamed. I tend to use Japanese recipes for fish more than Chinese, but I want to try the Chinese recipes starting in July when I go into semi-retirement. I'm cooking swordfish tonight, but I almost always grill that - I do not have a Chinese or Japanese recipe for swordfish, but if you have some recommendations, I would try them. I'll probably just make tartar sauce for it, since I have dill in my yard right now. My other choice is to make a sauce with Yuzu and wasabi, but that is still Japanese.

Kevin brought a whole salmon from Seattle the last time he went there to meet with his Amazon clients - he protested when I asked him to do it, but after visiting Pike Place Market, he changed his mind. Salmon is probably my favorite fish, after tuna, but I also like Opah. I recently heard about a terrible oil spill in the Columbia River Gorge, and I hope that will not affect the salmon that you get.

John -- Like you, I grew up with homecooked Chinese food every day, so McDonalds/fast food was a rare treat. Once a week? Nope -- whenever we painted the inside of the house (every few years!), and Mom didn't have time to cook dinner.

DH and I bring home redfish, black drum, sheepshead, flounder and speckled (sea) trout from our Gulf fishing trips, and I steam them all (whole...eyeballs and all.) I cut slits (every 2") into both sides, douse with a bit of salt and light soy, then place on a bed of minced garlic and chopped green onions. I also sprinkle a bit of garlic (just a bit) and green onions on top. After the steaming, I finish off with another handful of fresh green onions, topped with sizzling (canola) oil and a splash of sesame oil. Not a lot of spices and flavors so goodness of the fresh fish comes through. (I remember Mom piling on shredded ginger before steaming, but that was probably to mask any fishiness.)

ETA: Rather than cut up a beautiful whole fish in order for it to fit into a steamer, I'll place the fish into a 13x9x2 glass dish. And that goes into a large roasting pan for the steaming -- use a cookie sheet as a lid. Not very graceful, but gets the job done!

I've tried eating fish eyeballs, but didn't like it much. Kind of bony.

My grandfather loved fish eyeballs and even fish brain. He would claim the fish head and eat it with gusto.

I remember bringing a girl home once. She was a Caucasian girl, from Orange County CA. The family put on a big feast for her. I think they were testing her. There was steamed fish with head/eyes, boiled sea cucumber, whole shrimp with legs and heads, chicken necks and feet, etc. Absolutely nothing she could eat without gagging, except rice and some vegetables. I thought it was rather funny, actually.

When SWMBO, also a Caucasian girl, visited my family home, my family was very careful to prepare food that she could eat. It is possible they had by then given up hoping I'd find a "nice Chinese girl". It is also possible that they liked her better . . .

People are funny.

One of our wedding banquet courses/delicacies was squab. Our 'uninitiated' friends were (as the stories went) a bit beside themselves, not quite knowing what to do. :)

LOL...SWMBO -- had to Google that. Might need to borrow it. ;)

I was told that the Chinese steam food, including bread making, because they believe baking and frying are bad for health.

Fish, chicken, etc. are served head-&-tail, because they believe that everything should have a good beginning and a good ending.

dcarch

Nice to hear stories about the history and re-discovery of childhood meals.

I just recently replaced a vintage double gas wall oven with a side door convection and a steam oven. Game changer. Still experimenting....

Used the bamboo steamers for years. With fish i use a heat proof plate that fits inside then a green leaf or a few on top of the plate. Holds onto some of the aromatics. Lots of lemon slices and a lemon-ginger paste using salt with the side of a knife to 'paste' on a board.

And some time to marinade in deep slits. I actually prefer a thick fleshed whole fish or fillets. Last attempt i used a bed of sliced leeks and was divine. Tender silky and slightly sweet...not overpowering to the mild fish.

My mom gave me one of these old-time tiered steamers forever ago:

It's perfect for steaming 2-3 of our smaller catches in a single 10" Pyrex deep dish pan (x 2 layers on a good day). I couldn't imagine using a bamboo steamer as all the delicious 'juices' would be lost through the holes/cracks (right?). Retaining the juices was a huge deal in our household, as Mom used it to baste the fish just before serving. She also drizzled it over our rice to make it more flavorful, if we threatened to leave the table w/ rice leftover in our bowls....the horror! ;)

Thank you for the tip of "testing girls the son brings home". My problem is I have been so indiscriminately welcoming anyone and everyone. I may try this next time to show my kids that I too have backbone and expectations. LOL!