My mom is half Chinese. So no surprises that she cooks Chinese inspired dishes like the steamed fish. Normally, my mom would prepare this with either the white pomfret or the ‘kurau’ fish. The latter is better known in Hokkien as ‘ngor he’ and lesser known by its English name, Threadfin, in Singapore. It is commonly believed by both the Malays and the Chinese to be of great health value and a good source of brain food, and therefore my mom prepares it specially for the kids. She’d cook the fish in porridge and blend it when they were on semi-solids. She’d steam it, cook it in soups and fry it as they grew older. Unfortunately, I’ve not seen this fish here, yet. So when I choose to steam fish, I’d replace the ‘kurau’ with its lesser fish cousins like the flounder and the tilapia. 

Today my little one isn’t feeling too well after the triple vaccination shots she got yesterday. So I thought it’d be a good idea to cook some plain porridge for her. But plain prridge is just that - a bit too plain. Also, I didn’t want to have to fuss around the kitchen too much for the rest of the family’s dietary needs. You know how it’s like when the kid demands the additional attention from mom especially when he’s not feeling like his usual self. So I decided steamed flounder with rice for everyone and it’ll be a great side for the porridge -healthy and light. So if you’re looking for something fast and easy and HEALTHY to cook for your kids, then this might be a suitable dish. And if you can get threadfin, use it

Ingredients:
4 fish fillet eg. Tilapia/Flounder or 1 white pomfret
1/4 onion - chopped/sliced thinly
2 garlic - sliced thinly
1 inch garlic - sliced into 4 equal pieces
1 tsp light soy sauce
pich of salt
1 tsp sesame oil
sliced button mushrooms
Broccoli (optional)
1 tomato sliced into rings
spring onion

Method:

• Prepare the steamer, pour water and bring to boil. While the steamer is getting ready, prepare the fish.

• Lightly rub the salt on the fish then place the fish in a bowl.
  Drizzle the sesame oil over the fish. Sprinkle with onions, garlic, ginger and sugar.

• Spread the sliced mushrooms over the fish and drizzle the light soy sauce over it.

• Spread the tomatoes and/or broccoli over the mushrooms. Place the cilantro or spring onions over the tomatoes.

• Place it in the steamer and steam for about 10 min if using fillets, or up to 15 minutes for whole fish.

• Test if the fish is cooked by using a fork and scooping up a piece of the flesh from the fleshiest part of the fish. If the flesh doesn’t stick to the bone, the fish is done. Otherwise, continue steaming for a minute or two more before removing from the steamer.
• Remove the cilantro (if using spring onions, no need to remove).
• Garnish with freshly sliced spring onions.
• Serve hot with rice.

Tips:

• If you don’t like the fishy taste of steamed fish, use the fillet instead of a whole fish.
• If using a whole fish, place a few ginger and garlic slices inside the head portion of the fish to reduce the fishy taste when eating.
• If you don’t have a steamer, use a pot, place a pot stand inside and a colander that fits into the pot. OR place the colander on the pot stand inside the pot. Make sure the water does not touch the colander.
• If you prefer spicy, add a few slices of green or red chili.

If you can’t spot the cilantro or spring onions, that’s because I ran out of it. But it still tasted yummy! ;P