FISH: In Chinese cuisine, steaming or poaching fish is still the best way to serve fish--the fresher the better.

POACH WHOLE FISH WITH GINGER, GREEN ONION AND SOY SAUCE白水魚:

1 whole fish weighing 2-2 ½ lbs                                 

cooking oil                              

2 stalks green onions                                                  

2-3 slices ginger

1 tbsp. rice wine or dry sherry                        

white pepper to taste

½ cup each julienne green onion & ginger

1 tsp. each salt &. sugar                                                                     

1 tbsp. good quality soy sauce

seasoning for fish:

    1 tbsp. salt                                                  

    1 tbsp. rice wine

    2 stalks green onion, trimmed + 2 slices ginger

In wok or large saucepan, heat 2 tbsp. oil over high heat until very hot. Add 2 green onions stalks and 3 slices ginger. Cook until fragrant. Add wine and 20 cups water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add fish and cook it for 20 seconds. Remove fish with a slotted spoon and reserve poaching liquid.

Rinse and de-scale fish thoroughly. Rub fish all over with seasoning ingredients. Set aside for 30 minutes.

Bring reserved poaching liquid to a boil. Add fish; then immediately turn off heat. Let fish sit in hot liquid on the stove for 10-15 minutes. Check after 10 minutes, if a chopstick can be inserted through the meaty part of fish easily, it is done. Do not over cook fish.  Reserve ½ cup of cooking liquid. Sprinkle fish with white pepper.

Arrange ginger and green onion juliennes on top of fish. In a small saucepan, heat 3-4 tbsp. oil until smoking. Remove pan from heat. Use clean and dry spoon to spoon most of the hot oil on top of ginger and green onion mixtures and the fish. Return saucepan to heat. Add salt, sugar, soy sauce to the left-over oil in pan. Stir to dissolve sugar; then taste and adjust seasoning, adding a bit more sugar and reserved cooking liquid if preferred. Bring to a boil; then pour sauce over fish to serve.