In restaurants worldwide, fish is often presented uncooked on a platter so you can admire how pristine it is and start salivating (those eyes! those gills!). In Greek restaurants, you may visit the case to check out your choice; some Chinese restaurants showcase fish swimming in a tank. Nothing compares with a fish viewing we experienced in Beijing.
Our very capable guide recommended a restaurant and helpfully wrote the name in Chinese characters on the hotel’s card so we would get home after dinner. The doorman summoned a taxi and, after about twenty minutes, we pulled up at an unprepossessing building on a very ordinary street. From there on, nothing was quite what it seemed.
Once inside the doorway we were in a courtyard straight out of The Mikado –lanterns, arches and red doors with gilded characters painted on them. Seated, we did our best to decipher the menu with minimal help, (of course, we’d asked our guide for an “authentic” restaurant.) Somehow, we ordered. Teacups arrived. We stood to watch a young waiter, a good six feet from the table, pour tea from a long-handled pot directly into each cup without spilling a drop. (This photo isn’t nearly as dramatic as the real event.)
Pouring Tea with Long Spout Pot
Among what we’d ordered was a whole fish which became evident when two women emerged with a bamboo pole over their right shoulders from which was suspended a triangular container, about the side of a toaster. Giggling, they approached the table and and removed the box’s lid. There, swimming in the triangular space, was our fish. What could we do but smile and try to convey that it exactly what we wanted? It was, as was the entire meal. Back at the hotel, we tried not to feel too smug when running
into other members of our group who had eaten a fine, but far more ordinary, dinner at the hotel. We had had an authentic experience and a fabulous meal.
Chinese Steamed Fish
Use cod or halibut.
- 1 1/2 pounds halibut (or cod) cut into 4 pieces
- 3 green onions, cut into 3 inch lengths
- 2 fresh mushrooms, sliced
- 6 leaves napa cabbage, sliced into 4 inch pieces
- 2 slices fresh ginger root, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/8 cup water
- crushed red pepper flakes to taste
- fresh cilantro sprigs, for garnish
- Arrange 1/2 of the green onions on the bottom of the steaming bowl ( you need to steam in a container to retain the steam and juices around the fish). Place 1/2 of the mushrooms and Napa cabbage sections on top of the onions. Place fish on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes over fish. Top with the remaining green onions, mushrooms, and napa cabbage. Drizzle soy sauce and water over everything.
- Place steam bowl in a steamer over 1 inch of boiling water, and cover. Steam for 15 to 20 minutes, or until fish flakes easily. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.