This sweet and tender Steamed Rainbow Trout is quick, healthy, and delicious. It is dressed Chinese style with a simple ginger, garlic, and soy dressing.
A Fish Series would not be complete without steamed fish. Steaming fish is fast, easy, healthy and delicious. Always select fish with bright, clear eyes. Some Asian grocery stores have live fish tanks where you can pick out the fish and they will prepare and dress it for you. If you prefer to use fillets, make sure the flesh is fresh and firm to the touch. Fish that is not fresh gives out a strong fishy smell and taste when steamed.
Most kinds of white fish may be used for steaming. Bass, snapper, monk fish, trout, cod, and halibut are good choices. Halibut is my favorite but it is not always available where I live. Of late it has gotten quite expensive as well. For today’s post, I have decided to use rainbow trout as it is quite easily available during the summer. It has a sweet delicate flesh which is quite delicious when steamed.
When steaming whole fish, make sure the fish is thoroughly cleaned and scaled. The fish should be held down by the tail and the skin scraped with the sharp edge of a knife towards the head to remove scales. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 rainbow trout (dressed) (about 1 lb/450g)
- 2 inch ginger (peeled)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Dressing
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 inch ginger (julienned)
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
Garnish
- 1 red chili (seeded and cut into strips)
- 1 green onion (finely sliced)
- Cilantro for garnishing
INSTRUCTIONS
Dressing
- Place minced garlic, julienned ginger, vegetable oil, and sesame oil in a microwaveable dish. Microwave on high for 1½ minutes. Remove, pour soy sauce into garlic oil and stir to combine. Set aside.
Preparing the fish
- Using the sharp edge of knife, scrape fish skin towards head to remove scales. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels.
- Butterfly the fish and place it flesh side up on a dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grate ginger over fish.
Steaming the fish
- Add about 2 inches of water to a large wok or pan. Put a metal rack or stand in the wok or pan. Cover pan and bring water to a boil.
- Place dish with fish on metal rack. Cover pan and reduce heat to medium. Steam for 10 to 12 minutes. Fish is done when flesh flakes easily.
- Remove and drain some fish juices if there is too much on the plate. Pour dressing over fish. Garnish with chili, green onion, and cilantro.
- Serve immediately.
NUTRITION
Steamed Rainbow Trout is light and tasty. It is best served with a bowl of white rice.
NOTE: This post was updated on October 25th, 2013 with new pictures.
Enjoy…..and have a wonderful day! 😎
We eat steamed fish often because my mum has health concerns but I've never had steamed trout before, though I love it pan fried or grilled. Will try it next time I see trout in the market.
I love rainbow trout but you can't find this in Singapore now, just don't know why. I like to pan fry rainbow trout with garlic and dill with little salt.
What a pretty dish! I love the colors and the trout looks so perfectly cooked. We don't often catch trout, but I bet I could do the same thing with any mild fish. Thanks!
Steamed trout sounds amazing and I love the dressing!
Wow, this looks fantastic! And I love that I know now how to steam things in a large pot! I’ll definitely make a steamed trout soon, and I love the Asian seasoning! 😀
Hi Kath, thanks for visiting! Steaming in a wok or large pot is very easy and convenient. Glad to hear you found a recipe here that you would like to try. I hope you will visit again soon. 🙂