Kato's Steamed Turbot
Make the classic Taiwanese steamed fish dish in seven minutes and an ingenious hack.
Inspired by his mother's preparation, but unable to serve each guest a whole fish, Jon Yao of Kato adapted the fish into a recipe that became a classic at Kato's original location.
February 1, 2022
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Ingredient for Turbot
- 1 turbot, around three to four pounds
Ingredients for Turbot bone broth
- 45 g. turbot bones
- 300 g. water
- 5 g. ginger
- 70 g. sake
- 70 g. mirin
- 70 g. michiu
- 70 g. Shaoxing
- 3 g. usukuchi
- 5 g. fish sauce
- 15 g. dark Chinese soy sauce
- 5 g. shiro dashi
- 3 g. aged soy sauce
- 1.5 g. sugar
Ingredients for ginger scallion relish
- 100 g. haché (minced) ginger
- 100 g. haché scallion
- 50 g. grapeseed oil
- 5 g. fish sauce
- 3 g. salt
Ingredient for kohlrabi
- 1 kohlrabi
Ingredients for scallion powder
- 60 g. dehydrated scallion
- 20 g. salt
- 10 g. sugar
- 1 g. MSG
Other materials
- Japanese-style sheeter
Directions for Turbot
- Filet turbot into four pieces and skin.
- Cure with a mixture 2:1 salt:sugar for 10 minutes.
- Rinse in cold water and dry well. Reserve.
Directions for Turbot bone broth
- Wash turbot bones three to five times or until completely clear.
- Boil bones for 10 to 15 minutes or until all flesh and residue are off.
- Steep bones with water and ginger until flavor is developed, for about one hour.
- Reduce sake, mirin, michiu and Shaoxing by half.
- Add to bone broth and season with usukuchi, fish sauce, dark Chinese soy sauce, shiro dashi, aged soy sauce and sugar. Keep warm.
Directions for ginger scallion relish
- Mix haché ginger and scallion together and season with salt.
- Heat grapeseed oil to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and pour over haché ginger and scallion. Caution: this step is very dangerous and will splatter.
- After oil is poured, add fish sauce.
- Strain gently.
- Relish should be slightly oily and you should have a lot of leftover oil as well to reserve.
Directions for kohlrabi
- Use a Japanese-style sheeter to sheet kohlrabi.
- Stack high and slice into one-by-six-inch ribbons.
Directions for scallion powder
Use a coffee grinder to grind the entire mixture until very fine-like powder.
To Assemble
- Cut turbot into a small rectangle and place a teaspoon of relish on top, or enough to blanket it.
- Wrap with four to six pieces of kohlrabi ribbon.
- Steam with really low heat for five minutes or until gently cooked through.
- Dust parcel with scallion powder then place in a warmed bowl.
- Heat broth with a generous amount of oil in a small pot until just before boiling.
- Pour broth tableside.
Attribution
Jon Yao, Nikki Reginaldo and Ryan Bailey of Kato
