# 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.

> Source: How To Make Steamed Fish With Fermented Soy Beans (Easy recipe!)
> Length: 4 min 56 s
> Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8ZBzSNJjTg
> Timestamps are AI estimates; check them against the video.

## Ingredients

| Ingredient | Amount |
| --- | --- |
| Whole white snapper (or red grouper / fish fillet) | 1 whole fish (weight not stated in the video) |
| Ginger | 10 g |
| Garlic clove | 1 |
| Chilli padi (bird's eye chilli) | 1 |
| Sesame oil | 1 Tbsp |
| Fermented soy bean paste (taucheo) | 45 g |
| Water (optional, to rinse the pot for extra gravy) | A splash |

## Method

1. Score both sides of the cleaned fish with 2 to 3 diagonal slashes, cutting about halfway through the flesh without hitting the bone. (~01:00)

2. Pound the ginger, garlic and chilli padi in a mortar and pestle (or mince them finely with a knife). (~01:45)

3. Warm 1 Tbsp of sesame oil in a small pot over very low heat. (~01:58)

4. Add the pounded aromatics and fry gently until fragrant and lightly golden, taking care not to burn the garlic. (~02:02)

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. (~02:39)

6. Set the fish on a heatproof steaming plate and spoon the warm taucheo sauce evenly over the top. (~02:54)

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. (~03:05)

8. Place the plate into a steamer over rapidly boiling water, cover, and steam on high heat for 6 to 8 minutes. (~03:34)

9. Turn off the heat and leave the lid on for 1 to 2 minutes so the residual heat finishes cooking the fish. (~03:42)

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. (~04:10)

## Picking and Scoring the Fish (~00:43)

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 (~01:39)

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.

## To verify

- The video does not state the weight of the white snapper; adjust the 6–8 minute steaming time for thicker or larger fish.
- The splash of water used to rinse the sauce pot is added by eye rather than measured.

## Source and license

Original video: [How To Make Steamed Fish With Fermented Soy Beans (Easy recipe!)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8ZBzSNJjTg)

Creator: SETHLUI.com · Lace Zhang

License: [CC BY 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) · [License record](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:How_To_Make_Steamed_Fish_With_Fermented_Soy_Beans_Lace_Zhang.webm)

Notes generated, translated and reviewed by VidQuire, with timestamp and ingredient corrections. Cover still extracted from the source video. No affiliation or endorsement.