Delicious Steamed Crucian Carp Recipe

If you are always racking your brains about what your family eats every day, then steamed crucian carp is a considerate choice. It is both nutritious and delicious, and can meet the different taste needs of the elderly and children. Come and follow me to try it.

Ingredients Needed and Substitutions

Main ingredients

Crucian carp: It is the core of the dish. Rich in high-quality protein, it retains a fresh and tender taste and original flavor after being steamed.

Accessories

Chives and scallions: Add onion fragrance, decorate the dish and enhance the flavor level at the same time.

Green and red peppers: Bring a little spiciness and bright colors to make the dish more attractive.

Ginger: Remove fishy smell and enhance flavor, helping to highlight the deliciousness of fish.

Seasonings

Cooking wine: Effectively remove fishy smell and make the taste of crucian carp purer and fresher.

Table salt: Control the saltiness to make the fish taste moderate and highlight the original flavor.

Rapeseed oil: When drizzling oil, it stimulates the aroma and adds color to the dish.

Clear water: Used for steaming to provide a suitable cooking environment.

Steamed fish soy sauce: Enhance freshness and season, giving crucian carp a rich umami taste.

Substitutions

Crucian carp: Bluntnose black bream can be used as a substitute. It also has tender meat. After being steamed, it has a good taste and delicious flavor.

Chives: Shallots can be substituted. The fragrance is similar and can play a similar role in decoration and enhancing flavor.

Rapeseed oil: Peanut oil and corn oil are also fine. When drizzling oil, they can also stimulate the aroma of ingredients.

How to remove the fishy smell when making steamed crucian carp

When handling the fish, the gills and internal organs must be cleaned thoroughly. These places are full of dirt and have a very strong fishy smell. If there is any residue, the whole dish will be wasted. After washing, rub the fish body with salt, and make three crosswise cuts on both sides to facilitate subsequent flavoring and also for quick steaming.

The pickling process cannot be underestimated. Prepare cooking wine, ginger slices, and scallion segments, and evenly apply them to the fish body. Pickling for 15-20 minutes is the most appropriate. If it is too short, the fishy smell will be difficult to eliminate. If it is too long, the fish will lose its freshness. Add some table salt during this period for better fishy smell removal effect.

Before steaming, lay scallions at the bottom of the plate, put the pickled fish on it, and then stack fresh ginger, scallions, and garlic on it. By using the heat during steaming, let the aroma of ginger, scallions, and garlic fully penetrate into the fish flesh and dispel the fishy smell. Later, when it is out of the pot, pour steamed fish soy sauce and hot oil on it, so that the fish fragrance can be perfectly presented and there is no fishy smell at all.

How deep should the cuts on the fish body be

Usually, it is most appropriate for the tip of the knife to penetrate 3-4 millimeters into the fish flesh, which is about half of the thickness of the fish flesh. It can touch the fish bone without damaging it at all. The knife must be sharp and cut in at a 45-degree oblique angle. The cut is neat and beautiful, which is convenient for seasonings to penetrate into the fish flesh.

There are different tricks for making cuts on different parts of the fish body. For the thick part in the middle, cut a little deeper to allow seasonings to fully penetrate; near the tail where the flesh is thinner, make shallower cuts to prevent the fish flesh from becoming loose; the fish head is delicate and there is no need to use a knife.

Apply force evenly throughout the process and keep the depth of the knife marks consistent. In this way, seasonings can evenly penetrate into the fish flesh. The steamed fish that comes out of the pot is complete and exquisite in appearance, with a uniform and mellow taste, fully showing the deliciousness of the dish and firmly locking the taste buds of diners.

What are the techniques for drying the moisture on the fish body

First, use kitchen paper towels to wipe. This step is very crucial. After washing the fish, take a paper towel and gently press on the fish body, focusing on handling the fish abdominal cavity. Because it has many folds and is easy to hold water, knead the paper towel into a ball and probe it in to absorb the moisture inside. Don't neglect the fish gill area either, and carefully absorb the remaining accumulated water. The wiping action should be gentle to prevent damage to the fish flesh fibers.

Next is natural air drying. Place the fish body in a well-ventilated place and let it air dry for a while to allow the moisture to flow away and evaporate naturally. If time is tight, you can also use the cold air setting of a hair dryer to assist. Keep a distance of about 15 centimeters from the fish body and blow evenly on the areas prone to accumulate water such as the fish gills and cut areas.

After pickling, don't repeatedly wipe the fish body with paper towels to avoid wiping off the seasonings. You can find a hollow rack and place the fish on it to allow the excess juice to drip down naturally and keep the fish body dry, helping to achieve the best taste of the steamed fish.