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Chinese-style baked sea bream

Cooking crispy or steamed whole fish on Chinese New Year’s Eve is considered to be very auspicious, so every year I try out a new recipe. This year, instead of frying or steaming, I decided to use the oven and made this easy yet deliciously fragrant Chinese-style baked sea bream. I served it as part of a family Chinese Feast. As one of the side dishes, I recommend stir-fried or steamed greens (such as Pak-choi) and steamed Jasmine rice.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Resting Time 4 hours
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 2 people
Cuisine: Chinese
Calories: 1234
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 medium sea bream gutted and cleaned
  • 1 inch piece of ginger
  • 1 chilli
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 handful of coriander leaves
  • 2 Tbsp Chinese rice wine
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 lime
  • 1 tsp sesame seeds
  • To serve: handful of chopped spring onions and coriander leaves

Method
 

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Wash the fish inside and out, then pat dry with kitchen paper. Score the skin with a sharp knife on both sides.
  3. Thinly slice the garlic, chilli and ginger. Put one piece of each into the cuts.
  4. Thinly slice the lime. Put a row of these in the roasting tray and place the fish on top. Put the rest of the lime slices (cut in half) into the cavity together with the remaining chilli, garlic and ginger. Finally, add the coriander leaves, pushing everything tightly into the cavity.
  5. Mix together the rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil and seeds. Add some freshly ground pepper. Drizzle this mixture over the fish and cover the roasting dish with foil.
  6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until cooked through.
  7. If you want crispy skin - turn the grill on medium-high and cook for a couple of minutes, until golden and the skin is sizzling.
  8. Serve hot on a platter with coriander leaves and spring onion pieces scattered on top.