![]() (A large plate set on a rack inside a roasting pan with an inch of water simmering on the stovetop and a foil lid works well.) Then, there’s the question of buying and serving whole, head-on, bone-in fish. There are, of course, a few hurdles to clear: If a large bamboo steamer in a wok is not a typical cooking setup in your home, you’ll have to hack together a steaming rig. It sputters and sizzles its way down a tangled bird’s nest of fresh aromatics on the fish, wafting their scent around the table. I finish it gently with a mixture of soy sauce, rice wine and sugar diluted with warm water, and dramatically with a tableside splash of hot oil. Once the fish is steamed, you could transfer it to a fancy serving platter, but I typically serve it on the plate I steamed it on. Properly steamed fish also gets an incredibly luxurious texture, unachievable by harsher methods. Rather than intensifying fishy aromas the way pan-frying or grilling can, steaming brings out a more delicate sweetness, a flavor complemented by the ginger and scallions. ![]() This not only perfumes the fish, but it lifts it off the bottom of the plate and keeps its cavity open, ensuring that it will also cook rapidly and evenly. I start by washing and lightly seasoning a whole fish (typically trout, sole or branzino) with salt, stuff it with ginger and scallions (and cilantro, if my cilantro-hating daughter is not around), then steam it gently on a bed of the same. Its centerpiece-worthy appearance and subtle aroma and flavors belie the fact that it’s one of the fastest, easiest ways I know to cook fish. But it wasn’t until I started cooking for guests in my own home, and started a family with two children, that I’ve come to know its true value: The effort-to-reward ratio is off the charts. It’s an ideal dish for people who are still on the fence about fish (kids and grown-ups alike), and particularly whole fish. It always reminded me of the sakana no nitsuke, Japanese simmered fish, my grandmother would eat. When I was growing up, it would show up at celebratory meals at a Chinese friend’s house, or my grandfather would order it at one of the many Cantonese seafood restaurants in New York. Steaming fish, as in the classic Cantonese dish 清蒸鱼, whole steamed fish, neatly solves these problems. But the common complaints - it’s difficult to cook well (especially when distracted by an active household), it’s messy to handle, it can leave the house smelling for days - all ring true, even for someone who has cooked professionally for years. White fish is paired with juicy prawns and creamy butter beans to make this flavoursome fish stew, ready in just 40 minutes.Fish is fresh and plentiful here in Seattle, and my family and I eat a lot of it at home. Even if you follow all the steps necessary to prevent the fish from sticking to the pan, an old, well-used pan that has lost its non-stick coating will cause fish to stick fast, requiring it to be scraped off.Once a crust has formed it will pop away from the bottom of the pan. The skin will get super-crisp then self-release, helping to avoid sticking – so don't touch! Let the fish cook undisturbed. Oiling the fish rather than the pan ensures there is minimum oil between the skin and the base of the pan.Fish flesh conducts heat easily, making it easy to overcook - it's better to cook it a touch less than you think it needs and then let it rest and continue cooking out of the pan. This technique cooks the skin quickly until crisp but the heat also pushes through to the delicate flesh.The heat of the pan will cause the fish to bend away - by gently pushing down will ensure even contact and even crispness. Carefully press down on the fish as soon as it goes into the pan.Once the fish is out of the pan, rest or plate it skin-side up - this will ensure any moisture from the fish isn't re-absorbed into the skin.Make sure the skin is very dry, pat the skin with kitchen paper to remove all moisture before cooking, as water prevents caramelisation.The technical name for this is the Maillard reaction: a chemical reaction between amino acids and sugars that browns and crisps the skin, and tastes delicious. When moisture is driven away from the skin of the fish it allows the skin to caramelise.
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