Ingredients
- 1 sea bass, about 1.2–1.5 catties for two people
- 2 spring onions
- 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 grams salt
- 3 garlic cloves
- Chopped chili or bird’s eye chili
Preparations
Preparing the Fish
Ask the fishmonger to descale and clean the sea bass, including removing the head (though you can keep it if you like fish heads). After bringing it home, rinse the fish and make a few shallow cuts on both sides—be careful not to cut all the way through, as this can cause the fish to fall apart during steaming. The cuts are just for better flavor absorption:
Lightly coat the entire fish with a thin layer of salt, including the tail:
Rinse the lemon, cut it in half, and set one half aside. Squeeze the juice from the other half over the fish, making sure every part is covered—ah, the refreshing lemon aroma:
Preparing the Sauce
Flatten the garlic cloves with the side of a knife, then crush them into minced garlic in a bowl. Add chopped chili, fish sauce, and sugar to make the sauce. The minced garlic in the photo isn’t perfect because I didn’t have a proper tool—my parents used to crush garlic with the end of a rolling pin, but I skipped that to avoid extra cleanup. Instead, I pressed the garlic hard with a spoon to extract some juice, though not much:
Other Prep
Chop the spring onions and set aside:
Slice the remaining half of the lemon for garnish:
Cooking
Evenly pour the prepared sauce over the fish:
Fill a steamer with an appropriate amount of water and bring it to a boil over high heat:
Place the fish in the steamer:
Reduce to medium-low heat and steam for 10 minutes:
Just before the fish is done, heat a small amount of oil in a pan—don’t use too much. Once the steaming time is up, remove the fish and drizzle the hot oil over it (I used too much oil in the photo; a little is enough):
Sprinkle with chopped spring onions, garnish with lemon slices, and serve. Pair it with a bowl of steamed rice{:target=“_blank”} for the best experience:
From the author:
I often wish that when facing some key decisions in life, someone could tell me the best course of action so that I would not waste my precious time. Putting myself in others' shoes, I therefore write blogs often, hoping to record in this tiny corner of the vast Internet the once-in-a-lifetime experiences that matter to me, and to help those who seek help.
