This is one of those recipes that is dead easy, but will make your guests go WOW. Make twice as much as you think you need, they will eat it all, and mop up the little bits left over too.
This cooking style is intended for a whole fish, with skin and head on. Works really well for a small salmon or a rockfish. However, it is also fine to use a filet of salmon or halibut.
Rub the inside of the fish or the filet with pureed ginger.
Steam the fish in a pot — use a vegetable steamer or anything to lift the fish out of the water. 7 minutes is enough for a small whole fish. Like always, it is better to slightly under cook fish than to over cook it.
While steaming, heat a half cup of vegetable oil with a few drops of sesame oil. Heat until hot but stop short of smoking.
While oil heating up, in a bowl add 1/4 cup of soy sauce and 3 tablespoons rice vinegar.
Dice a handful of cilantro and a handful of green onions. (rinse them before and let them drip dry…want them as dry as possible, not dripping wet)
Place steamed fish on a plate or platter. Put cilantro and green onions on top.
Pour the hot oil over top. This will sizzle the cilantro and green onions (which is why you want them dry, oil will explode any water left…so stand back and ensure nothing nearby that can get damaged from oil splatter).
Pour the soy mix over to finish.
And there you have asian style fish … Yum.