Steamed fish in sesame oil

A couple of years ago, I created a dish of steamed fish, garlic, ginger, parsley and olive oil. Earlier today, I decided to create something similar but with more oriental flavors. Instead of olive oil, I used sesame seed oil. In lieu of chopped parsley, I added onion leaves. The simplicity of the preparation, the freshness of the ingredients, the amazing aroma… this is down-to-earth cooking.

You can use any fleshy fish for this dish although I wouldn’t recommend fish with rather dry flesh like talakitok. It’s always best to use oily fish in steamed dishes. I used pompano but labahita, maya-maya and even tilapia will be just as good. I know that whole fish is not that common in the West but please, please don’t use fillets to make this dish. The head and bones are the most flavorful parts of the fish and you really want to catch all the flavors and get them mixed into the delicate fish flesh and into the sauce as well.

I used an 800-gram fish for a meal for two and it was more than enough. We have a househelp now (hope she doesn’t elope with some tricycle driver the way a previous one did) so the lunches for one on schooldays will be mostly lunches for two.

Ingredients :

1 whole fish, about 800 grams in weight
sea salt
2 tbsps. of finely chopped garlic
1 tbsp. of finely chopped ginger
3-4 tbsps. of onion leaves cut in 2-inch lengths
about 1/3 c. of sesame seed oil

Cooking procedure :

Clean the fish and score diagonally on both sides. That means slashing the back of the fish diagonally towards the tail. Not all the way through the bone but about 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep depending on the thickness of your fish.

Rub both sides of the fish liberally with sea salt (rock salt will do just as well).

Take a heat proof dish large enough to hold the fish. Grease the bottom with about a third of the sesame seed oil. Lay the fish on the oil. Sprinkle the garlic, ginger and onion leaves on top. Drizzle the rest of the sesame seed oil over the fish and vegetables.

Steam over simmering water for about 30 minutes.

Serve at once with hot rice. I tell you, great home-cooked meals do not mean penitence for wives and mothers.

In the mood for more food?

1. Cafe Dozo
2. Chateau Verde in U.P. Diliman
3. Ox tongue with gravy
4. Pork loin in apple, pineapple and ginger sauce
5. One pot of broth, 2 soup dishes
6. Pollo con queso
7. Baked mussels with butter and cheese
8. Vegetable and Apple Salad
9. Buko-melon and buko-pandan yema balls
10. Salami and Cheese Fettuccine

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