Salmon Steaks with Black Bean Sauce
Submitted by Warden
Chinese steamed salmon steaks with fermented black bean sauce, fresh ginger, and scallions, finished with a sizzling hot-oil pour. Classic Cantonese fish done restaurant-style.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
20 minREADY
35 minSteamed salmon with fermented black beans is a Cantonese classic, and this version uses the full traditional technique: steaming in bamboo, finishing with a dramatic hot-oil pour that crisps the scallions and releases their aroma. Every step has a purpose.
Soaking the salted fermented black beans for 5 minutes mellows their intense saltiness and makes them easier to mash with the garlic, ginger, and soy. Skip this and the sauce tastes aggressively salty and the beans stay chalky.
The bed of scallion sections and ginger under the salmon lifts the fish off the plate so steam circulates freely around every side. It also flavors the fish from below. Salmon steaks placed directly on the plate sit in their own juices and the undersides steam unevenly.
Ten minutes of steam over medium-high heat is the sweet spot for 1-inch-thick salmon steaks. The fish should just flake when prodded, with the color turning pink and opaque all the way through. Overcooked salmon turns dry and chalky fast.
The hot oil pour at the end is the showstopper move. Heat the peanut or corn oil almost to smoking, then pour it over the raw scallion slivers on top of the fish. The oil flash-cooks the scallions, releasing their aroma and giving the finished dish a glossy, slightly crispy topping that you simply cannot achieve any other way.
Dry vermouth stands in for Chinese Shaoxing rice wine, which is the traditional choice but harder to find. Both bring a mild acidic lift that balances the savory beans and soy.
Chef Tips
- Fermented black beans (douchi) are worth seeking out at an Asian grocery. There is no great substitute.
- Blot the salmon steaks dry before plating. Excess moisture dilutes the sauce.
- The oil must be near smoking to properly flash-cook the scallions. Cooler oil just puddles on the fish.
- Lift the steamer lid away from your face. Escaping steam is dangerously hot.
Variations
- Swap salmon for sea bass, halibut, or cod. All work beautifully with black bean sauce.
- Add a tablespoon of toasted sesame oil to the finishing oil for deeper aroma.
- Spike the black bean mixture with chopped chili for a spicy version.
Ingredients
Directions
SOAK BLACK BEANS in lukewarm water for 5 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water; drain.
Combine black beans with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, dry vermouth and sugar; gently mash together.
Cut 3 green onions into 2-inch-long sections and cut 3 into 2-inch-long slivers.
Put green onion sections and half the shredded ginger on bottom of a shallow heatproof plate (like a glass Pyrex pie plate).
Sprinkle salmon with salt. Place salmon steaks in a single layer on top of green onions.
You may need to use 2 plates with a 2-tier steamer unit. Scatter remaining shredded ginger. Top each steak with ½ tablespoon of the black-bean mixture and half the green onion slivers equally over the steaks.
Fill a wok or steamer with enough boiling water to come within 1 inch of the bottom of bamboo steamer.
When the water comes to a boil, put the fish with its plate into the bamboo steamer. Cover. Steam over medium-high heat for 10 minutes.
When done, remove cover away from your face and carefully lift out the plate. In a small pan heat the peanut or corn oil until hot and almost smoking. Sprinkle salmon with white pepper and scatter the remaining fresh green onion slivers on top. Carefully pour the hot oil over the fish steaks.
It should sizzle. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Serve hot with steamed rice.
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