Tale of the Fish Bone

My family and I lived in Hong Kong during the first five years of my life and one vivid memory I have of my time there involved a fish dish. My mother would prepare steamed fish at least twice a week. On those days, I would come home from school with my sister and brother and I would hear the familiar whack of the cleaver on a lump of ginger. My mother would then turn the ginger into a fine julienne before sprinkling the pieces onto a cleaned fish that was sitting in our well-loved steamer. Before long, the aroma of soy sauce, sesame oil, green onions and ginger would fill our tiny apartment.

When it was time for dinner, all five of us would gather around our small square table and begin eating in silence; enjoying the quiet and enjoying the food before us. Because I was the youngest, my mother would chopstick off pieces of the fish, rid the meat of any bones and place it in my rice bowl. And call me gross but she would also fish out the slippery eyeballs because she knew I liked to slurp off the gelatinous material around the eyes.

And then, I choked. Every one stopped eating and looked up from their rice bowls. I coughed hard, trying to dislodge whatever was stuck, but nothing came out. My mother searched my bowl and saw both fish eyes were still there, so it must be a bone. She tried to get me to swallow some rice but the bone would not budge.

Acting quickly, my father ran out of the apartment and down to the street where the fruits stands were opened late. He returned minutes later with a bunch of bananas and ordered me to swallow a chunk of the fruit. Red-faced but still able to breath, I took a bite and swallowed hard. It worked. The ripe banana forced the bone down.

Unlike some who would shy away from fish after a traumatic experience, fish is still a big part of my diet and so is my mother's steamed fish. I wonder what happened to her steamer...

Mother's Steamed Fish

Ingredients

1 medium fish or 2 small ones (snapper or black bass both work well)

½ cup soy sauce

2 tbs vegetable oil

1 tsp sesame oil

1 scallion bunch (chopped)

1 inch of ginger (julienne)

cilantro (optional)

Directions

Fill a steamer pot with 2 inches of water.

Place the cleaned fish in steamer basket and sprinkle with ginger and white part of scallion.

Steam fish 12-15 minutes, always making sure there's water in the pot.

While fish is steaming, mix oils and soy sauce together in a small pot and bring to a quick boil.

When fish is done (flesh flakes off easily with fork), turn off heat and pour oil/soy sauce mixture over entire fish.

Sprinkle with the green part of scallion and a few sprigs of cilantro.

Cover with lid for another minute to let the residual heat cook the scallion and cilantro.

Serve over white rice.