Recipe: Cheong Cheng Fish (Gravy Steamed Fish) 酱蒸非州鱼

One of our favourite fish dishes to order at the "dai chow" restaurant is Cheong Cheng Fish (usually whole tilapia fish 酱蒸非州鱼or "soong" 松鱼 (bighead carp) fish head). 

Cheong cheng 酱蒸 sauce is easy to put together - all you need are finely chopped garlic, shallots, ginger, cili padi, along with seasonings such as taucu (fermented bean paste), oyster sauce, light soy sauce and sugar. You can use a whole fish such as tilapia, siakap, or snapper or it will work equally well with tilapia or any white fish fillet. I like using tilapia fillet, as there are no bones and it's much quicker to cook too. Steam for about 8 minutes and voila! Best of all, this tastes just like the ones we get from the "dai chow"... so yummy and good!

Watch the step-by-step recipe video here (link here):

Cheong cheng tilapia fish 酱蒸非州鱼

Recipe by Baby Sumo

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 8-10 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients 

2 tilapia fillet (about 200g each)
1/2 bulb garlic, peeled and finely chopped

2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped

2 slices old ginger, finely chopped

1 - 2 cili padi, deseeded and finely chopped

2 tbsp cooking oil

1 1/2 tbsp taucu

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1/2 tbsp light soy sauce

1/2 tsp caster sugar

To garnish

Red chillies, sliced

Spring onion, finely chopped

1. In a wok, heat oil over medium high heat. Once oil is hot, add the garlic, shallots, ginger and cili padi, and saute for 3-4 minutes, until fragrant. 

2. Then, add the taucu, oyster sauce, light soy sauce and sugar and saute for a further 2-3 minutes. Turn off heat.

3. In a heatproof stainless steel plate, arrange your tilapia fillet or any fish you are using. Top with the taucu paste (from Step 2).

4. Place fish in steamer and steam for 8-10 minutes (for fillet) or 12-15 minutes for whole fish (depending on fish size). 

5. Once ready, sprinkle spring onion and red chillies over the top of the fish. Enjoy with white rice. 

Note: I used 1 cili padi for my sauce, however if you like it spicier, do use 2 cili padi. 

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