27
Mar

Ginger-Orange-Chili Steamed Tilapia

I’m not sure how I missed the boat for so long on steaming my food, but I’m glad I finally caught on. For a while now I have had a bamboo steamer, just waiting to be used, but I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. A few minutes of internet research solved that – amazing, isn’t it? In just a short while I came up with a great idea and some tips and tricks for creating a fresh and healthy steamed dinner. To be specific, we had Ginger-Orange-Chili steamed tilapia along with some (also steamed!) cauliflower and quinoa. We both loved the simplicity of this dish and were amazed at how the flavors all came through. This is definitely the kind of meal you can just throw together, no specific measurements needed.
Many recipes for steamed fish say to place the fish on a little plate inside the steamer basket. A friend also mentioned laying the fish on top of a cabbage or lettuce leaf. It turns out that this is done to protect the fish from falling apart. I wasn’t sure I had a plate that would fit nicely, and I wasn’t going to buy a head of lettuce just for this purpose, but I did have an orange. And citrus is just lovely with fish, isn’t it? So I made a bed of orange slices… and shaved ginger, and cilantro.

Then I placed the tilapia in a single layer on top of the oranges , ginger and cilantro. The steaming basket gets placed inside a wok, with a little water- not enough to touch the bottom of the basket.
Then I stirred together some lite soy sauce and chili-garlic sauce and spread that over the fish. For just an extra layer of flavor.

In the second tier of the steamer, I added cauliflower florets. Have I mentioned before how much I love cauliflower? I love it pureed with garlic and goat cheese or roasted with balsamic vinegar and blue cheese. But it turns out I also love it just simply steamed.

Set the burner to medium-high heat, place the cover on the basket, and steam for about 15-20 minutes, until fish is cooked through and vegetables are crisp-tender.

Then, go ahead and enjoy a fresh and healthy meal! Steaming with the addition of citrus and aromatics is a delicious way to infuse flavor without any added fats or sugar. I’m looking forward to trying more recipes with my steamer – this piece of a equipment should be a staple for any healthy cook!
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4 Responses to “Ginger-Orange-Chili Steamed Tilapia”

  1. 1

    Patsyk — April 6, 2009 @ 1:49 am Reply

    I’ve got to use my bamboo steamer more, too! Love this idea, it seems like such a nice light dinner – perfect for spring.

  2. 2

    Gourmet Chick — April 6, 2009 @ 4:53 pm Reply

    Bamboo steamers are brilliant – particularly for Asian food

  3. 3

    KMAYS — April 6, 2009 @ 6:33 pm Reply

    This looks amazing! I was eyeing bamboo steamers at my favorite Thai restaurant yesterday. I love the idea of doing tilapia in them.

  4. 4

    Gourmet Chick — April 5, 2011 @ 1:16 am Reply

    Bamboo steamers are brilliant – particularly for Asian food

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