Steamed Garoupa with Supreme Soy Sauce (Qīngzhēng Shíbān Yú)

A pinnacle of Cantonese cuisine, Steamed Fish with Supreme Soy Sauce is a dish that embodies the core philosophy of Yue cooking: to highlight the ultimate freshness and natural sweetness of the primary ingredient through minimal yet precise seasoning and flawless technique. It is a staple at banquets and family meals, symbolizing abundance and prosperity.

The choice of fish is paramount. A live, freshwater fish like Mandarin fish or, for special occasions, a superior specimen like a garoupa (as featured here), is always preferred. The goal is to capture the fish at its peak, ensuring a firm, flaky, and incredibly moist texture.

The preparation is deceptively simple but requires expert timing. The whole fish is scored, lightly seasoned with salt, and placed on a plate, sometimes atop a few slices of ginger and scallion to elevate it and allow steam to circulate. It is then steamed over vigorously boiling water for a precise number of minutes—just until the flesh turns opaque and the eyes pop out. Over-steaming by even a minute can ruin the delicate texture.

Once perfectly cooked, the fish is removed, and the steamed ginger and scallion are discarded. Fresh, fine juliennes of ginger and scallion are artfully piled on top. The critical next step is the “sizzling oil pour”: scorching hot peanut or vegetable oil is ladled over the fresh aromatics, releasing an instant burst of fragrance and lightly “cooking” them.

Finally, a ring of warm, premium light soy sauce (the “supreme soy sauce”)—often sweetened with a touch of rock sugar and enhanced with a little water or fish stock—is poured around the fish, not directly on top, to preserve the pristine white color of the skin.

The result is a masterpiece of contrast: the tender, snow-white flesh that melts in the mouth, the pungent, crisp freshness of the raw scallion and ginger, the savory-sweet depth of the warm soy, and the silkiness from the hot oil. Every element works in harmony to celebrate the true, unadulterated flavor of the fish.