Steamed Fish with Taucheo (Fermented Soy Beans)
Cookbook author Lace Zhang makes home-style steamed fish topped with a savoury ginger, garlic, chilli padi and taucheo (fermented soy bean) sauce. Beyond the 8-minute steam, she shares how to spot a fresh fish at the market and how to check when a whole fish is cooked through.
Ingredients7
Method10 steps
- 1
Score both sides of the cleaned fish with 2 to 3 diagonal slashes, cutting about halfway through the flesh without hitting the bone.
- 2
Pound the ginger, garlic and chilli padi in a mortar and pestle (or mince them finely with a knife).
- 3
Warm 1 Tbsp of sesame oil in a small pot over very low heat.
- 4
Add the pounded aromatics and fry gently until fragrant and lightly golden, taking care not to burn the garlic.
- 5
Stir in 45 g of fermented soy bean paste (taucheo) for a few seconds until you smell the bean aroma, then turn off the heat.
- 6
Set the fish on a heatproof steaming plate and spoon the warm taucheo sauce evenly over the top.
- 7
Optional: swirl a small splash of water in the sauce pot to pick up any leftover paste and pour it around the fish for extra gravy.
- 8
Place the plate into a steamer over rapidly boiling water, cover, and steam on high heat for 6 to 8 minutes.
- 9
Turn off the heat and leave the lid on for 1 to 2 minutes so the residual heat finishes cooking the fish.
- 10
Check doneness by poking a chopstick or fork into the thickest part of the flesh — it should slide in with no resistance, flake easily, and the eyes should be opaque white.
Tips
Picking and Scoring the Fish
You can use a whole fish or fillets — her cookbook calls for red grouper, while she uses a whole white snapper here. At the market, check that the fish smells clean (never fishy or sour) and has bright, clear eyes rather than cloudy ones. For a whole fish, score 2 to 3 diagonal slashes on each side about halfway to the bone so the thick flesh cooks evenly.
Frying the Sauce and Steaming
Pounding the ginger, garlic and chilli padi in a mortar releases more aroma than chopping, though a knife works too. Fry the aromatics in sesame oil over the lowest heat so they turn golden without burning, then stir in the taucheo briefly until fragrant. Steam over a rolling boil for 6 to 8 minutes, then let the fish sit in the covered steamer off the heat for 1 to 2 minutes.