My third dish for the Chinese New year reunion dinner to greet the Year of Boar is steamed Pomphret (Pomfret) fish. This fish is a little pricey, and especially so during the Chinese festive season, however, it is very difficult to find a better fish as far as steamed fish dishes go.

looking at this is making me hungry again

Ingredients:

• a good size pomphret fish (preferably around 1KG)
• shitake mushroom
• chopped garlic
• finely sliced ginger
• salt
• soya sauce
• pork fat (optional)

Steps:

• clean the fish throughly and rub both sides with salt
• put the sliced mushroom, garlic, and ginger evenly on the fish
• sliced some pork fat (I got them from the roasted pork in the HK kailan dish)
• add some soya sauce to the fish
• steam it for about 15 minutes, and let the fish sit in the steamer for another 5 minutes after switching off the fire
• be very careful not to spill the very hot dish while transferring it from the steamer to dining table

can you spot the secret ingredient?

This dish turned out excellent as expected, the secret ingredient (pork fat) makes the fish even smoother and adds a layer of that Year of Pig aroma that is irreplaceable. The garlic and ginger removes any fishy smell that might be present, and the mushroom gives a different taste and texture to enrich the whole experience.

I think adding a little bit of parsley might give a better presentation, sort of like how I dressed up the fried pomphret. You can try this method with other type of fish too, though the result might be less optimal.