Steamed whole Scup with ginger and scallions
Recipe courtesy of Hiro Uchida via New England Seafoodies
RECIPE
One jumbo scup. Good quality scup, or any fish for that matter, won't smell fishy and this one certainly did not!
Cut a few slits on one side and tucked in some ginger slices for aroma (if the fish smells, this really helps). A few slices are thrown inside the belly too.
You will need a steamer big enough to fit the fish.
Place a sheet of parchment paper. This will be a great help when taking out the fish when it's done. And the fish won't stick to the pot.
There goes the fish! No seasoning needed at this point. The fish is quite squeezed in here, but that's OK -- they don't usually complain.
In the meantime, heat up 1/4 cup or so of vegetable oil. Here I used the canola oil. Heat it up until it just begins to smoke.
Steamed and placed on a plate! This was a jumbo scup so I steamed it for good 10-12 minutes. You can't really over-steam a fish (to an extent) so if in doubt keep it in the pot a bit longer.
Not shown: sprinkle some green onion, scallion, chives, or something similar.
Click on the image to watch video. Pour heated oil over the fish and scallions. That sizzling sound is what you want to hear! But not really part of cooking the fish per se.
The usual soy sauce will do, but this one really does the magic! The English label says "seasoned soy sauce for seafood" but the Chinese characters above suggest that it is particularly suited for steamed fish. Some grocery stores may have it; Asian grocery stores will definitely do.
Done! No cutting fish or filleting involved and ready in no more than 30 minutes. Bones will come right off so no hassle there either. Don't forget to eat the cheeks too!