Thai Steamed Fish
After nearly four months of COVID quarantine, my family decided to finally go to a restaurant again and eat there (outdoor seating, of course). We stumbled upon a Thai restaurant in Old Bellevue called Fern, and the food there was AMAZING. I forced myself to stray from my typical orders of pad Thai, tom yum soup, and papaya salad, ordering steamed cod instead. My mind was blown. It didn’t look like much, but the dish was super flavorful with lots and lots of lime, garlic, and fresh herbs. I had to figure out how to recreate the dish at home, and two days later, ended up with this! The dish is traditionally made with barramundi, which is an Asian sea bass, but I used tilapia loins instead.
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 4 4-oz fillets white fish (tilapia, barramundi, cod, bass)
- 1 cup fish stock or other stock of choice
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 8 Tbsp fresh lime juice
- 6 Tbsp fish sauce
- 2 heads of garlic, roughly diced
- 4 Thai chilis, diced
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 stalk lemongrass, sliced into 2-inch segments
Directions
- Place fish fillets into steamer and steam over high heat for 10-15 minutes until fully cooked. A sharp knife should fall smoothly through the thickest part of the fish when done.
- Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by adding stock, lemongrass, and sugar to a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and remove once sugar is fully dissolved. Stir in lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, chilis, and cilantro. Adjust sweetness and acidity if needed.
- Once fish is steamed, transfer to serving platter and pour sauce over fish. Serve with steamed rice and vegetables!
Per serving: 230 calories: 10.2 g carbs; 3 g fat; 24.5 g protein
Adapted from Eating Thai Food.
