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China, Asia · Cantonese Steamed Fish with Ginger and Spring Onion

Crispy-Skin Salmon Rice Bowl with Ginger-Scallion Oil

The ginger and spring onion of Cantonese steamed fish turned into a sizzling oil, spooned over crispy-skin salmon, a jammy egg and pickled cucumber on rice.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time27 min
DifficultyEasy
About servingsJammy eggs and moist salmon are not recommended for young children, pregnant women, older people or anyone with a weakened immune system; for them, boil the eggs for 10 minutes and cook the salmon to 63 °C in the centre.

Method

  1. Finely chop the ginger and very finely slice the spring onions, then put them in a heatproof bowl with part of the salt. Heat most of the oil in a small pan over medium-high heat for , until a piece of spring onion sizzles instantly (about 180 °C), then pour it into the bowl and stir. It bubbles up vigorously, so use a roomy bowl and keep your face away.

    Add in this stepFresh ginger 25 gSpring onions 4Salt 0.4 tspNeutral oil 3¼ tbsp

    medium-high heat

  2. Bring water to the boil in a 16 cm pan and keep it on high heat. Lower the eggs straight from the fridge in with a ladle, cook for , then move them to iced water to cool. The yolks will be soft and jammy.

    Add in this stepEggs 2

    high heat

  3. Slice the cucumber thinly on the diagonal and toss it with the rice vinegar.

    Add in this stepCucumber ½Rice vinegar 2 tsp

  4. Pat the salmon skin completely dry with kitchen paper, score it lightly 2–3 times and season with the rest of the salt. Heat the remaining oil in a 26 cm pan over medium-high heat, lay the salmon in skin-side down and press with a spatula for 10 seconds. Cook for ; watching from the side, you'll see the flesh turn opaque from the bottom up. When it's two-thirds of the way up and the skin is crisp, flip and cook for more.

    Add in this stepSkin-on salmon fillets 240 gSalt 0.4 tspNeutral oil ¾ tbsp

    medium-high heat

  5. Fill the bowls with warm rice and top with the salmon, cucumber and halved eggs. Spoon over plenty of the ginger-scallion oil, drizzle with soy sauce and scatter with sesame seeds.

    Add in this stepCooked rice, warm 360 gLight soy sauce 2 tspToasted white sesame seeds 1 tsp

Cook's tip

If the skin sticks to the pan, it isn't ready to turn yet; give it a little longer. Make extra ginger-scallion oil: it keeps 3–4 days in the fridge and is great on noodles or chicken. Cod or chicken thighs can stand in for the salmon.

Cooking it at camp

Make the ginger-scallion oil at home and bring it in a jar; reheat instant or pre-cooked rice. Starting the salmon skin-side down in a cast-iron pan gives crisp skin even at a campsite. Keep the salmon cold in the cooler and cook it on the first day.