"Steamed fish soy sauce" is not soy sauce. However, it's easy to make substitutes. First, let me correct a misconception: "Steamed fish soy sauce" is not soy sauce. It's a "compound seasoning sauce" created for convenience, and it's only been around for about 15 years. Why am I so sure? Because over 20 years ago, I was one of the few professionals active in domestic culinary forums, teaching, publishing, Cantonese cuisine, and hotel management. In the late 1980s, I studied Cantonese cuisine and roast meats at the Liuhua Hotel and Aiqun Building in Guangzhou; and hotel management at the White Swan Hotel, Shenzhen Jingpeng Hotel, Xiamen Yuehua Hotel, and Fuzhou Minjiang Hotel. After returning to Beijing, I devoted myself to the establishment, training, management, and culinary teaching of star-rated hotels. In the early 1990s, I published more than ten culinary instruction books and videotapes, and after helping the Ministry of Aerospace establish its first star-rated hotel, I remained as the manager of the catering department at the administrative level of section chief, until I was invited to the United States for cultural exchange.
Since we are a culinary kingdom with over 5,000 years of food culture history, it's both appropriate and meaningful to have some professional knowledge. Steamed fish soy sauce: also known as "soy sauce dressing." It's an indispensable "kitchen seasoning" in Cantonese cuisine. While all chefs can prepare it, specific chefs prepare it daily on the stove. With the booming catering and hotel industry after the 1990 Asian Games, Cantonese cuisine became popular nationwide. Following the reform and opening up, people's living standards improved, and Cantonese cuisine entered people's daily lives, giving rise to many "compound seasonings" used in Cantonese cuisine.
This "steamed fish soy sauce" is made primarily of water, mixed with various food additives, colorants, and other seasonings, including soy sauce. It can only be called an "auxiliary mixed seasoning sauce," not soy sauce. Soy sauce dressing = steamed fish soy sauce: Besides steaming fish, "soy sauce dressing" has another famous use, which everyone knows, is "blanching sauce." Everyone has eaten "blanched prawns," right? It's that small bowl of dipping sauce. Blanching is a unique cooking technique in Cantonese cuisine. In the culinary world, you can tell which cuisine you belong to just by the name of the dish. If I'm wrong, you might be a chef, but you're definitely not "formally trained." So... who set this standard? It used to be the industry standard set by the Labor Bureau's "Standardized Technical Assessment Standards" and the learning materials. We teach according to this standard. Cantonese Steamed Fish: Cantonese steamed fish differs from other cuisines in that it involves making two slits along the back, steaming, sprinkling with shredded scallions and ginger, drizzling with hot oil, garnishing with cilantro, and serving with soy sauce.
Soy Sauce Preparation: Professional Version: Light soy sauce, boiling water, oyster sauce, sugar, Maggi seasoning, fish sauce, chicken powder, pepper, cooking wine or Guangdong rice wine (boil, then soak in a container of soy sauce with cilantro, scallions, and ginger; change daily). Standard Version: Light soy sauce, boiling water, oyster sauce, sugar, cooking wine, chicken powder, pepper (1:3 ratio of light soy sauce to water) (boil, then soak in a container of soy sauce with cilantro, scallions, and ginger for 1-2 days, refrigerate overnight). Minimalist Version: Light soy sauce... Boiling water (1:2 ratio). Method: Wash a whole sprig of cilantro (including roots) and one scallion, twist them into a ball and place them in a bowl. Add two slices of ginger (cut into strips) to the bowl as well. Boil soy sauce and water in a 1:2 ratio, then pour the mixture into the bowl with the cilantro and ginger. Let it steep for 15 minutes. Note: Do not pour the fish sauce directly onto the fish. First, drizzle hot oil over the fish, then pour the hot steamed fish soy sauce over both sides of the fish.
This method results in white, tender fish meat; dipping the fish in the sauce will enhance its flavor and appearance, aligning with the philosophy of culinary aesthetics. Sauce color: Avoid making the sauce too dark. The fish sauce should be light reddish-brown, clear and bright, offering a "light and fresh" sensory and visual experience.
