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Steamed Salmon, Shanghai Style – The Woks of Life

9 April 2024

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This Shanghai-style steamed salmon recipe may just become your new favorite salmon preparation. This simple, fragrant, and delicious dish takes minutes to prepare. It’s basically one step to season it. Then you steam it for a few minutes, and it’s done!

If you’re looking for new ways to prepare salmon, look no further than this recipe, inspired by my childhood in Shanghai.

A Shanghainese Way to Prepare Steamed Fish

This method of steaming fish is a Shanghainese technique. With the large Cantonese population in the U.S, the Cantonese steamed fish technique is more well-known in the states.

Growing up in Shanghai, however, this is how my aunts and grandma used to prepare any steamed fish—not necessarily salmon, but whatever fish they could get that was suitable for steaming.

(In fact, the first time I saw Bill’s family prepare a steamed fish, it struck me as rather complicated compared to what I was used to. Considering that our Cantonese steamed fish recipe only takes 20 minutes to make, that should tell you something about how easy this particular recipe is.)

Like the Cantonese preparation, this recipe also uses ginger and scallion. However, the key flavor here is actually Shaoxing wine, which you won’t find in Cantonese steamed fish.

Moreover, salt (rather than lots of soy sauce) plays an important role in bringing all the flavors “home.” Believe it or not, the ginger and scallion are not as important, though they are sort of the icing on the cake.

You can use this method with other fish, such as: tilapia, sea bass, or sole. Note that the thickness of the fish will affect cooking time. The piece of salmon we used was about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick.

Tip!

Since salmon is oily, we’re not going to use any oil. However, if you’re using a less oily fish, brush the fish lightly with oil before adding the seasoning ingredients.

A New Way to Prepare Salmon

We all know salmon is healthy, but it can sometimes seem like we’re running out of ideas to cook it! What I love about this recipe is that it’s so simple, but also a pretty unique way of preparing salmon. If you’re tired of your usual weeknight salmon preparation, this recipe offers some new flavors without any complicated steps.

Also check out some of our other salmon recipes, including:

Steamed Salmon Recipe Instructions:

Leave the fish out at room temperature for 30 minutes. Avoid steaming the fish directly from the refrigerator, which may cause undercooking or uneven cooking. Note that the fish should be fully thawed before coming to room temperature if previously frozen.

Preheat the water in your steaming set-up until boiling. For more info on how to set up a steamer without any special equipment, see our post on how to steam food.

Place the salmon fillet into a heatproof dish that will fit into your steamer. Pour the Shaoxing wine over the fish, and rub it into the fish—the top, bottom, and sides—so the whole piece is coated. Tuck the thinner belly portion underneath the fillet so it is an even thickness across. This will help it cook more evenly.

tucking belly portion of salmon under the rest fo the fillet to create an even thickness

Sprinkle the salt evenly over the top of the fish, along with the ginger and scallions. Drizzle soy sauce around the fish.

ginger, scallion, and soy sauce seasoned salmon fillet in dish

Once the water in the steamer is boiling, place the fish in the steamer, cover tightly, and steam over high heat for 4 minutes.

Then turn off the heat, but leave the steamer tightly covered for 1 minute to allow the salmon to continue cooking in the residual heat. Uncover and serve!

Leftovers?

As a Shanghainese, I love fish—especially leftover fish with cold fish jelly. When it comes to fish, a good rule of thumb is to not to reheat any leftovers. Just eat it cold or at room temperature.