Cantonese Steamed Fish

1. Gather all the ingredients.
2. Soak dried mushrooms. Put the dried mushrooms in a bowl. Pour over boiling water to cover and soak 20 minutes until soft. Meanwhile, you can prepare other ingredients. Once hydrated, strain the liquid into another bowl, squeezing any excess liquid from the mushrooms (this is Shiitake Dashi, and you can use this umami-rich broth in other cooking). Cut off the stems (discard them) and slice the mushrooms.
3. Slice the tomato, cut green onions into matchsticks, and peel ginger and cut into fine matchsticks.
4. Rinse the fish inside and out under running cold water and pat dry with kitchen paper. Using a sharp knife, make three diagonal slits on both sides of the fish.
5. Arrange the tomato on the base of a heatproof platter that will fit inside a wok. Lay the fish on top.
6. Mix together the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil and rice wine in a small bowl and season with pepper.
7. Pour the sauce over the fish and sprinkle over the mushrooms and ginger. Cover with saran wrap and leave to marinate in the fridge for about 20 minutes.

To Cook The Fish

1. I don't have a good steamer to cook the fish, so I had to improvise. Place several round cookie cutters or a wire cooling rack with legs at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) in tall inside a wok. Leaving a minimum gap of ½ inch (1.3 cm) below the steamer, add water to the wok and bring to the boil over medium-high heat. Below was my creative setting as cookie cutters were too low for my plate to be supported.
2. Set the heatproof plate with the fish on the rack and steam, covered, for 10 minutes, or until the flesh separates from the bone easily and looks opaque when a fork is inserted. Keep an eye on the level of the water, adding more boiling water if necessary. Two minutes before the end of cooking, sprinkle over the spring onions. Serve immediately with boiled rice.

To Store

1. You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to a day.