Steamed Sea Bass Over Silken Tofu

Steamed Sea Bass Over Silken Tofu

Who does not love freshly steamed fish? It is delicate, healthy, delicious, simple and needs minimal effort to prepare. The most onerous task, we believe is finding good, fresh fish. Not so much a problem back home in Singapore; but it can be at times a little challenging here in the mid west US. We cook this dish at least once a month at home, and every time we taste it, we are reminded of how fond we are of this dish. This is Connie's mom's recipe - tried and tested and it has our highest recommendations. So give it a try at home.

Level: Easy

Time for Preparation: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 2 medium sized fillets of sea bass
• 1 tub of silken tofu (cut  2-3 inches by 1 inches and 0.5 inch thick)
• 2 cloves of garlic (sliced)
• 5 stalks of spring onion (sliced)
• 2 inches of ginger (sliced into strips)
• 1 small bunch of cilantro
• 3 - 4 tbsp of olive oil (adjust to taste)
• 3 - 4 tbsp of soy sauce (adjust to taste)
• 2 drizzles of sesame oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 - 3 pieces of Thai chilies (sliced, adjust to taste)

Preparation

1. The fresh produce should look like the above, ready for steaming.

2. Arrange in a shallow metal or glass pan, the sliced silken tofu at the base, then the fish fillets on top of the tofu. Remember to place the skin of the fish facing upwards.

3. Sprinkle the 3/4 of all the spring onion, cilantro, chilies, ginger (reserve 1/4 portion for later) over the fish and tofu randomly.

4. Put 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar in a bowl. Mix well, pour on top of the fish and tofu.

5. Pour 1 tbsp olive oil and a drizzle of the sesame oil over the fish and tofu.

6. Cover the pan with aluminium foil

7. Get the steamer ready in the meantime, wait until the water boils.

8. When the water has boiled, place the pan in the steamer, and steam for 25 - 30mins.

9. The length of time for steaming depends on the thickness of the fish, so be sure to check.

10. Once the fish is cooked (color is opaque and the flesh is flaky), heat in a small pan, the remaining olive oil. Warm it up for 40seconds at medium heat.

11. Put in the balance of garlic and chillies in the pan.

12. When the garlic starts becoming golden, turn off the heat.

13. Put the balance of the green onions, cilantro, ginger on top of the cooked fish.

14. Pour the hot oil over the pan (it should make a sizzling sound).

15. Pour the remaining soy sauce on the dish, and also the a drizzle of sesame oil.
16. Enjoy this delicious dish with steamed rice!

Copyrighted delimilli 2011