Steamed Fish

The Chinese hanker after steamed fish much as Westerners crave beef steaks. The choicer and fresher the fish, the more likely it will be steamed rather than cooked in any other way. Sea bass is superb for steaming, but rainbow trout, gray mullet, lemon sole, and haddock, or even cod steak are subtly delicious. The key is to steam it without overcooking it.

To steam a fish “clear,” only ginger and scallions are used; otherwise, the most usual condiment is the versatile black beans sp