Steamed Fish with Five Willow Sauce
A fish kettle will come in useful for this recipe. Carp is traditionally used, but any chunky fish that can be cooked whole such as salmon or sea bream can be given this treatment. Make sure you have a suitable large platter for serving this spectacular dish.
Ingredients
- 1-2 carp or similar whole fish, total weight about 1kg / 2¼lb, cleaned and scaled
- 2.5cm / 1in piece fresh root ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
- 4 spring onions, cut into thin strips
- 2.5mI / ½ tsp salt
For the five willow sauce:
- 375g / 13oz jar chow chow (Chinese sweet mixed pickles)
- 300ml / ½ pint / 1¼ cups water
- 30ml / 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 25ml / 1½ tbsp sugar
- 25ml / 1½ tbsp cornflour
- 15ml / 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 15ml / 1 tbsp rice wine or medium-dry sherry
- 1 small green pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 1 tomato, peeled, seeded and diced
Preparation
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- Rinse the fish inside and out. Dry with kitchen paper. Create a support for each fish by placing a broad strip of oiled foil on the work surface. Place the fish on the foil. Mix the ginger, spring onions and salt, then tuck the mixture into the body cavity.
- Fold up one or two pieces of foil to make a long wide strip. You will need one for each fish. Place the fish on the foil and then lift the fish on to the trivet. Lower the trivet into the fish kettle and tuck the ends of the foil over the fish.
- Pour boiling water into the fish kettle to a depth of 2.5cm / 1in. Bring to a full rolling boil, then lower the heat and cook the fish until the flesh flakes, topping up the kettle with boiling water as necessary. See Cook's Tip for cooking times.
- Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Tip the chow chow (Chinese sweet mixed pickles) into a sieve placed over a bowl and reserve the liquid. Cut each of the pickles in half. Pour 250ml / 8fl oz / 1 cup of the water into a pan and bring to the boil. Add the vinegar and sugar and stir until dissolved.
- In a small bowl, mix the cornflour to a paste with the remaining water. Stir in the soy sauce and rice wine or sherry.
- Add the mixture to the sauce and bring to the boil, stirring until it thickens and becomes glossy. Add all the vegetables, the chopped pickles and the pickle liquid and cook over a gentle heat for 2 minutes.
- Using the foil strips as a support, carefully transfer the cooked fish to a platter, then ease the foil away. Spoon the warm sauce over the fish and serve.
COOK'S TIP
If using one large fish that is too long to fit in a fish kettle, cut it in half and cook it on a rack placed over a large roasting tin. Pour in a similar quantity of boiling water as for the fish kettle, cover with foil and cook on top of the stove. Allow about 20-25 minutes for a 1kg / 2¼lb fish; 15-20 minutes for a 675g / 1½lb fish. Reassemble the halved fish before coating it with the sauce.
Serves 4.