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Salted Plum Steamed Fish Recipe
Salted Plum Steamed Fish Recipe-February 2024
Feb 12, 2026 4:10 AM
Salted Plum Steamed Fish

  My family in Swatow prepares this using a fresh fish and just a few pantry staples as part of a quick meal. My aunts take advantage of young ginger’s delicate flavor when it’s available at their market, and I do the same when I can find it in Los Angeles. However, the standard mature ginger available at any supermarket is a perfectly acceptable substitute. You can use any white-fleshed fish for this flexible recipe, although I generally like pomfret, sea bass, and snapper the best. This recipe uses jarred salted plums—the labels may say preserved plums or plum in brine.

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What you’ll need

  Chevron

  Chevron

  Sour Mustard

  $22 At Amazon

  Plum in Brine

  $25 At Amazon

  Shaoxing Rice Wine

  $10 At Amazon

  

Ingredients

Serves 4

  1 (2-inch) piece of ginger (use young ginger if available)

  1 leaf preserved mustard greens, rinsed

  1½ lb. whole fish, gutted and cleaned

  3 salted plums (jarred), pitted and chopped

  ½ tsp. fish sauce

  1 Tbsp. Shaoxing rice wine

  ¼ cup cilantro, chopped

  

Step 1

Bring water to boil in a steamer. Thinly slice half the ginger and finely julienne the other half. Mince the preserved mustard green leaf.

  

Step 2

Make two deep cuts, at about a 30° angle, on both sides of the fish. Place a slice of ginger and piece of salted plum in each of the cuts and in the cavity. Place remaining ginger slices, half of remaining salted plum, and half of preserved mustard greens on a plate. Lay fish on top. Top with slivered ginger and the rest of the salted plum and preserved mustard greens. Drizzle with fish sauce and rice wine.

  

Step 3

Steam for about 10 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 145°F at the thickest part. Turn off heat. Top with julienned ginger and cilantro. Serve immediately.

  Reprinted from Jia! The Food of Swatow and the Teochew Diaspora. Copyright © 2018 by Diana Zheng. All rights reserved. Buy the full book from Gwan-im.

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