A family favorite is Chinese-style steamed fish. There really isn’t a recipe, per se, just an overall technique. What you will need:

a whole fish, cleaned. Get a fish that will fit in your wok or in your roasting pan.
toasted sesame seed oil
cilantro, chopped (Chinese parsley)
garlic, chopped
onions or shallots, chopped
fermented black beans, crushed
dry (not sweet) sherry
1/4 cup peanut or canola oil
chopped green onions

How much you use of these ingredients will depend on the size of the cavity in your fish.

First, the black beans. These are not black beans that you use in your chili, rather these are dried, fermented soy beans with an extremely pungent smell. I keep them double bagged and in the freezer.

Some people soak them first in a bit of water (they’re very salty), but I just mush up a couple tablespoons and let them soak in enough sherry to moisten them.

While the beans are soaking, look at your fish. See those sharp points on the fins? Take a pair of cooking shears and cut off the tips. Be careful; fish are covered in bacteria. My cousin in Alaska stuck herself on the tip of the dorsal fin of a salmon, and ended up with a massive infection and on a Cipro IV drip.

Prepare your steaming pan: Set a rack or a heat proof bowl (upside down if you use the bowl) in the bottom of your pan. Fill the pan with a couple inches of water, put it on your stove, and bring the water up to a gentle boil.

Next, take your chopped garlic, shallots, cilantro, and combine them with the black bean-sherry mixture. Add about a teaspoon of the sesame oil, but don’t go overboard with it, as it is a very strong flavor. Stuff the cavity of the fish with the entire mixture, as shown in the photo at the top of this post.

Set the fish on the rack in your pot, and cover the whole thing with foil or your wok lid. This fish was bigger than one I normally would use, so I had to use my roasting pan.

Steam the fish until done. This will depend on the size and thickness of your fish. The place to check is up by the dorsal fin: A knife should penetrate easily, and the flesh should flake. As a guideline, I usually start testing at around 20 minutes.

While the fish is cooking, heat the peanut oil until it starts to shimmer. When the fish is done, carefully uncover the steam pot (you do not want to get a steam burn), set the lid aside, and then carefully pour the hot oil over the top of the fish. You will hear it sizzle and see the skin crisp up.

Place fish on a serving platter and serve whole, garnished with chopped green onions and/or cilantro. This is great with just plain, steamed white rice. No, not the Uncle Ben’s kind!

Oh, these were sooooo good! Master Chow said, “this tastes like restaurant food!” Then he asked me to put it on the “repeat list.”

One of my top two favorite cooking magazines is Cuisine at Home (the other is Fine Cooking). This recipe is from their April 2003 issue, and I tried it because I had a frozen piece of salmon that I wanted to use up, and I was desperate to prepare it in a new way. I decided upon this winning recipe, and tweaked it a bit by cutting down on the sugar called for in the dressing, and leaving out some of the herbs in the salad. Next time, I’m going to try it with canned salmon and see how that works.

Salmon Cakes with Asian Salad

Adapted from a recipe in Cuisine at Home, April 2003

Asian Vinaigrette

Whisk together and chill:

1/4 cup fresh lime juice
3 T. vegetable oil (I used grapeseed oil)
2 T. low-sodium soy sauce
1 T. sugar
2 t. toasted sesame oil
1 t. fresh ginger, grated
1 t. crushed red pepper flakes

For the salmon cakes, combine:

1 lb. salmon, poached, chilled, and flaked
2 cups panko bread crumbs
1/3 cup scallions, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Poaching salmon: poach in enough water to cover the fish. Add some salt and a few lemon slices to the water, which help keep the flesh firm. Heat until you just start to see bubbles, then add the fish. You do NOT want this to boil or bubble a lot – it should be a gentle simmer. Cook until you can flake the fish, or about 6-10 minutes per pound. It may take a bit longer, so keep an eye on it!

Whisk together, and add to the salmon cake mixture:

4 eggs
3 T. fresh lime juice
3 T. low-sodium soy sauce
2 T. rice vinegar (seasoned rice vinegar has sugar in it, unseasoned does not – use what you have and adjust the rest of the sugar accordingly to suit your taste)
2 T. fresh ginger, minced
2 T. jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 T. sugar
1 t. kosher salt

Once you have mixed all the salmon cake ingredients together, form them into patties, coat with the following, then chill for at least one hour (this is important – chilling the cakes firms them up and makes them easier to handle when you fry them):

1 cup panko crumbs
1/4 cup sesame seeds

Fry cakes in vegetable oil until golden brown. Some suggestions: (1) use a non-stick pan, (2) use a clear vegetable oil, not olive oil, to preserve the taste of the fish, (3) use a fork to place the salmon cakes in the pan to keep from knocking off too much of the coating, (4) handle the cakes gently, or they will fall apart, and (5) do not overcrowd the pan.

For the salad:

10-16 oz. greens, cleaned and spun dry. Toss with vinaigrette and plate. Top with two salmon cakes, and drizzle with more vinaigrette.

Makes 12 cakes, 6 servings.

I recently made this for a birthday party – it was well liked by all, including Master Chow, who is not a big fan of salmon. I didn’t have the prepared horseradish, so I used the prepared wasabi that comes in those little packets that you get with sushi.

The first time you make this, don’t be tempted to leave out the horseradish; the amount is so small that you don’t get any heat, but it definitely adds depth to the spread. I’ve also substituted low fat sour cream, with no decrease in quality.

Smoked Salmon Spread

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties! Ideas and Recipes for Easy Parties That Are Really Fun

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
1 teaspoon prepared wasabi
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (be careful with this – if you have very salty salmon, you may want to cut back or even eliminate the salt, according to your preference)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 pound (4 ounces) smoked salmon, mincedCream the cheese in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until just smooth. Add the sour cream, lemon juice, dill, horseradish, salt, and pepper, and mix. Add the smoked salmon and mix well. Chill and serve with crudites,crackers, or crostini.

Ina Garten notes: “If you can find it, I prefer Norwegian salmon; it’s drier and less salty than other smoked salmon. ”

* Update: It is best to make this dip several hours before you plan to serve it, so that the flavors can fully develop.*