How to steam fish without the fishy smell? 4 practical methods to remove the fishy smell

When making steamed fish, if it is not prepared properly and the heat is not right, the fish meat will look dull, and the texture will be coarse and fishy. To make delicious steamed fish, you need to master the following 4 tips:

1. Drain all the blood. For steaming a live fish, you must first strike the fish head hard with the flat of the knife to stun it; and bleed it from the gills so that the capillaries in the fish meat do not take in fish blood. This way the steamed fish meat will be white as jade, with no fishy smell at all; otherwise, the fish meat will not only be dull, but also very fishy.

2. Soak in hot water. After the live fish is gutted, scaled, and washed, and before steaming, the fish must be soaked briefly in 80°C hot water. This not only removes the fishy smell, but also keeps the belly of the steamed fish from splitting open and preserves its complete shape.

3. Season late. Seasoning must be added right before steaming. Marinating too early, because salt has the effect of osmosis and coagulating protein, will cause the fish meat to lose water and affect its tenderness.

4. Steam over high heat. Fish must be steamed quickly over high heat with boiling water, and be sure to cook it through in one go; if it is undercooked and steamed again, the fish meat will become tough and lose its flavor. For a bream of about 500 grams, generally 5-10 minutes is right. Too short and the fish is not cooked; too long and the meat becomes coarse and grainy.