Uncle Vinny's Recipe – Steam Fish with Star Anise

Uncle Vinny's Recipe – Steam Fish with Star Anise


500gm to 1.8kg of either Siakap, Kerapu, Jenahak or Senangin

2 cloves of Star Anise

Carrots/ Baby carrots

Spring Onions

Coriander

Young ginger

Chilli/ Birds-eye Chilli

Soya Sauce

Garlic infused oil

Coarsely grounded peppercorns

Vegetable stock/ fish stock


Method:

De-scale and gut the fish thoroughly. Slice the carrot into thin slices, finely chop the coriander and spring onions and cut the ginger into thin strips. Halve the chilli and retain the seeds. Lay the vegetables on a ceramic or steel plate and lie the fish on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle some soya sauce and the coarse grounded black peppercorns on the fish and pour the fish stock/ vegetable stock on the plate. Glaze the fish skin with some oil (olive oil/ garlic infused oil). Add the star anise to the plate and put the plate with the fish into the steamer. Time your steaming as a 500gms fish would need around 5 to 6 minutes to cook at high flame. The texture of the fish meat will on how long it's being cooked. Remember, fish meat is very delicate.

You can check the meat by poking the flesh with a fork. If it is cooked, the fork will pierce through the meat with ease. Before serving the steam fish, decorate it with the finely chop coriander and spring onions. Sprinkle the fish with some garlic infused oil too to get a dash of fragrant aroma. You can get the freshest fish at wet markets or you could get them from fish farms :) .