Ginger & Spring Onion Steamed Fish

Ingredients

• 2 sea bass or cod fillets, about 180g each
• 1 tsp rice vinegar
• 200 g jasmine rice, rinsed, to serve
• 4 cm piece fresh ginger, peeled, cut into fine matchsticks
• 4 spring onions, green tops only, cut into fine julienne
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp tamari
• 15g fresh coriander
• Pickled cucumber, to serve

Method

1. Rinse the jasmine rice until the water runs clear, then cook per packet instructions in well-salted water while you get on with the fish.
2. Pat the fish fillets dry with kitchen paper — surface water means the steam can't get to work cleanly — and season both sides with a pinch of salt. Sit them on a heatproof plate that fits inside your steamer and scatter half the ginger matchsticks over the top.
3. Steam over rapidly boiling water for 8–10 minutes, until the flesh turns from translucent to opaque and flakes when nudged with a fork. Err on the side of pulling early; carryover heat finishes the job.
4. While the fish steams, whisk the tamari, sesame oil, rice vinegar and sugar together until the sugar dissolves completely. Taste it — most of the salt comes from the tamari, but check the balance of salty, sweet and sharp now and adjust before it hits the fish.
5. Carefully tip off any watery liquid that has pooled on the fish plate — leave it and the dressing will taste washed out. Pour the tamari dressing over, then pile the spring onion julienne and remaining ginger on top in a loose tangle.
6. Heat the vegetable oil in a small saucepan over a high flame for about 2 minutes, until it shimmers and just begins to wisp smoke. Too cool and the oil won't shock the aromatics; too hot and it'll scorch the ginger bitter — you're after the moment a chopstick dipped in fizzes immediately.
7. Pour the sizzling oil straight over the spring onions and ginger. It will spit and crackle dramatically, wilting them in seconds and lifting the fragrance up off the plate.
8. Plate the fish over the jasmine rice, spoon any tamari pan juices over the top, scatter generously with fresh coriander and toasted sesame seeds, and squeeze a lime wedge over each fillet — the acid cuts through the sesame richness and finishes the dish.