Hi Keith. We cook a ton of food from different nationalities. But have a gaping hole in our repertoire? when it comes to steamed dishes and sauces for them. That is actually one of the main reasons I did not go the Sous Vide route as I realized we would have bland dishes with nothing to put on them. I am about to get into fishing and hope to catch a lot of bottom fish like flounder. In the past when we have bought such fish we only baked them in oven and had pretty tasteless result. Hoping you have some flavorful sauces to go with light tasting fish and such.
Sauces for steamed/Sous Vide dishes
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
Have you seen Keith's post about the clam juice sauce he made? I haven't tried it yet but DUDE it looked awesome.
garylkoh
WBF Technical Expert (Speakers & Audio Equipment)
Hi Amir, in your travels to Asia - particularly Hong Kong, you must have had steamed 'live' fish. I think that it's one of the best ways to prepare a whole, bone-in fish. It requires an exceptionally fresh fish, and if you are going to catch your own, then it should be fresh enough. The sauce is always the highlight - steamed flounder or sole is particularly good.
The make/break for this dish is the quality of the soy sauce and I generally make my own using a premium soy sauce, but you can easily buy a commercial version of the sauce:
http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Kum-Kee-Seasoned-Seafood/dp/B00886H2KY
The other two important ingredients are Fa Tui wine (a type of Chinese cooking wine - I use the 15 year old variety, but any good quality one will do) and Honey Rock Sugar. You can easily get all ingredients in the Uwajimaya in Bellevue. While you are there, pick up some ginger, a bunch of spring (green) onions, and peanut oil for cooking.
For one fish (less than 2 lbs)
In a heat-proof dish that can go in your steamer, lay down a carpet of ginger slices and 3 to 4 stalks of spring onion halved lengthwise. Lay the fish on the carpet, and liberally lace with Fa Tui wine (a couple of tablespoons full) and place half a dozen ginger slices to cover the fish. Let it sit for a bit while you make sure your steamer is very hot and you can start to prepare the rest of the ingredients.
In the meantime, julienne enough ginger and spring onions (2-in lengths) to cover the fish with a wig (this will be done later). Here's how to julienne: www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYtlIH-YZL4
In a small heat-proof bowl, put half a cup of the seasoned soy sauce, two tablespoons of Fa Tiu wine, and a small lump of the sugar (crushed) and heat to dissolve the sugar. You'll want this sauce hot, almost boiling.
In a small wok, heat three tablespoons of peanut oil until nearly smoking (you can use other oils, peanut tastes the best and has the highest smoke point). I also like to add a teaspoon of sesame oil for more taste.
When the steamer is very hot, put the dish with the fish in. A 2lb flounder will take only 9 to 11 minutes. If the fish is thicker, like a whole rock cod, up to 14 minutes. Don't over-cook the fish.
Once the fish is done, take it out of the steamer and pour away all of the liquid that is in the dish. This will get rid of any fishy taste. Remove all the ginger slices on top and below the fish, and pull out all the spring onion stalks as well. Throw all that away.
Cover the fish with the wig of julienned ginger and spring onions. Pour the hot soy sauce mixture all over. Next, pour the hot, almost smoking oil all over the dish. It will sizzle and crackle - my kids like me to do this at the dinner table, but it is dangerous carrying a wok of hot oil from the kitchen to the table.
Eat hot and quick with steamed white rice.
The make/break for this dish is the quality of the soy sauce and I generally make my own using a premium soy sauce, but you can easily buy a commercial version of the sauce:
http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Kum-Kee-Seasoned-Seafood/dp/B00886H2KY
The other two important ingredients are Fa Tui wine (a type of Chinese cooking wine - I use the 15 year old variety, but any good quality one will do) and Honey Rock Sugar. You can easily get all ingredients in the Uwajimaya in Bellevue. While you are there, pick up some ginger, a bunch of spring (green) onions, and peanut oil for cooking.
For one fish (less than 2 lbs)
In a heat-proof dish that can go in your steamer, lay down a carpet of ginger slices and 3 to 4 stalks of spring onion halved lengthwise. Lay the fish on the carpet, and liberally lace with Fa Tui wine (a couple of tablespoons full) and place half a dozen ginger slices to cover the fish. Let it sit for a bit while you make sure your steamer is very hot and you can start to prepare the rest of the ingredients.
In the meantime, julienne enough ginger and spring onions (2-in lengths) to cover the fish with a wig (this will be done later). Here's how to julienne: www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYtlIH-YZL4
In a small heat-proof bowl, put half a cup of the seasoned soy sauce, two tablespoons of Fa Tiu wine, and a small lump of the sugar (crushed) and heat to dissolve the sugar. You'll want this sauce hot, almost boiling.
In a small wok, heat three tablespoons of peanut oil until nearly smoking (you can use other oils, peanut tastes the best and has the highest smoke point). I also like to add a teaspoon of sesame oil for more taste.
When the steamer is very hot, put the dish with the fish in. A 2lb flounder will take only 9 to 11 minutes. If the fish is thicker, like a whole rock cod, up to 14 minutes. Don't over-cook the fish.
Once the fish is done, take it out of the steamer and pour away all of the liquid that is in the dish. This will get rid of any fishy taste. Remove all the ginger slices on top and below the fish, and pull out all the spring onion stalks as well. Throw all that away.
Cover the fish with the wig of julienned ginger and spring onions. Pour the hot soy sauce mixture all over. Next, pour the hot, almost smoking oil all over the dish. It will sizzle and crackle - my kids like me to do this at the dinner table, but it is dangerous carrying a wok of hot oil from the kitchen to the table.
Eat hot and quick with steamed white rice.
Amir, this is a whopper of a question! There must be thousands of sauces that go with fish. My preference is to actually taste the fish, and not the sauce ... so I have a preference for lightly flavoured sauces. These sauces are what I commonly prepare at home:
- Cantonese style sauce for steamed fish: consists of soy sauce, ginger, spring onion, sesame oil.
- Clam sauce. This is a versatile sauce that can be adapted for several recipes.
- Basic fish fumet (i.e. fish stock). Buy a whole fish, remove the fillets, eyes, and gills. Reserve fillets, and discard eyes and gills. Use what remains to make a fish stock, then poach your fillets in the stock. This does not work for oily fish. The variations on your fish fumet are many - you can flavour your fumet with tomato, fennel, mushrooms, etc. Neither do you have to poach the fish - you can panfry or grill.
John Dory with lemon and caper sauce
- Lemon and caper sauce. Melt some butter then squeeze juice from one lemon into it. Add capers. Adjust seasoning and serve (yes, it is as easy as it sounds). You can also make a beurre noisette - allow the butter to brown a little before adding the rest.
- Dashi. Make a dashi. Serve. (You can do it the traditional Japanese way - with Kelp and katsuoboshi, but it is far easier to use concentrated dashi stock or powder).
Sea urchin ceviche with salt water and lemon foam.
- Salt water and lemon foam. This looks really fancy. Squeeze juice of one lemon into 1L of water. Season with salt. Crack half an egg white into it. Now use a stick blender to aerate the foam. Spoon off the foam into your dishes.
Sardines with tomato sauce and basil/garlic pesto
Calamari with tomato sauce
- Basic tomato sauce. Simply reduce a can of tomato. It goes well with assertively flavoured fish like the sardines (here, served with a basil and garlic pesto) or deep fried calamari (here served with a brunoise of radish, onion, and celery).
- Cantonese style sauce for steamed fish: consists of soy sauce, ginger, spring onion, sesame oil.
- Clam sauce. This is a versatile sauce that can be adapted for several recipes.
- Basic fish fumet (i.e. fish stock). Buy a whole fish, remove the fillets, eyes, and gills. Reserve fillets, and discard eyes and gills. Use what remains to make a fish stock, then poach your fillets in the stock. This does not work for oily fish. The variations on your fish fumet are many - you can flavour your fumet with tomato, fennel, mushrooms, etc. Neither do you have to poach the fish - you can panfry or grill.
John Dory with lemon and caper sauce
- Lemon and caper sauce. Melt some butter then squeeze juice from one lemon into it. Add capers. Adjust seasoning and serve (yes, it is as easy as it sounds). You can also make a beurre noisette - allow the butter to brown a little before adding the rest.
- Dashi. Make a dashi. Serve. (You can do it the traditional Japanese way - with Kelp and katsuoboshi, but it is far easier to use concentrated dashi stock or powder).
Sea urchin ceviche with salt water and lemon foam.
- Salt water and lemon foam. This looks really fancy. Squeeze juice of one lemon into 1L of water. Season with salt. Crack half an egg white into it. Now use a stick blender to aerate the foam. Spoon off the foam into your dishes.
Sardines with tomato sauce and basil/garlic pesto
Calamari with tomato sauce
- Basic tomato sauce. Simply reduce a can of tomato. It goes well with assertively flavoured fish like the sardines (here, served with a basil and garlic pesto) or deep fried calamari (here served with a brunoise of radish, onion, and celery).
Thanks guys! Gary, yes that is one of my favorite sauces for seafood. I had forgotten about it 
.
Keith, I had missed your other thread with those stunning pictures! We actually can pick mussels and clams from our vacation house so I have to try to those recipes!
.Keith, I had missed your other thread with those stunning pictures! We actually can pick mussels and clams from our vacation house so I have to try to those recipes!
Thanks Amir I forgot about the sauce I served with last night's dinner, so here it is:
These are two portions of beautiful line caught wild barramundi.
Panfried barramundi with a ginger broth, mash potato, and autumn vegetables. To make the ginger broth: bring some chicken stock to the boil and put 3-4 thin (1mm) slices of ginger in. Turn off the heat to infuse, then adjust the seasoning.
I forgot about the sauce I served with last night's dinner, so here it is:
These are two portions of beautiful line caught wild barramundi.
Panfried barramundi with a ginger broth, mash potato, and autumn vegetables. To make the ginger broth: bring some chicken stock to the boil and put 3-4 thin (1mm) slices of ginger in. Turn off the heat to infuse, then adjust the seasoning.
Thanks Keith. That looks great too! Is that store made chicken stock or home made? I worry about using different brands of store made and have it taste totally different!
Amir, all my stock is home made I make them up in batches then freeze it. That way I can have a nice home-made stock for midweek meals.
I make them up in batches then freeze it. That way I can have a nice home-made stock for midweek meals.
steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Oh! yes it's me who does all the cooking. Stove / oven is made by ILVE. It's okay. Here are some piccy's of the kitchen and dining area:
steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Hey Amir, I thought you might like this. This was tonight's dinner - panfried sole with a lemon-caper sauce.
I do indeed! I can't wait until I actually go fishing and catch some of those flounders!
A problem though: I am allergic to dairy. I assume that caper sauce is made with butter? If so, is a good substitute olive oil?
A problem though: I am allergic to dairy. I assume that caper sauce is made with butter? If so, is a good substitute olive oil?
Yes, that is butter! I suppose you could use olive oil. Won't be the same though Personally i'd try margarine first!
Personally i'd try margarine first!Similar threads
