Grass carp belly steamed on lotus leaf with shiitake
Marinated grass carp belly and shiitake steamed on a softened lotus leaf for ten minutes, so the leaf's fragrance seeps into the fish — clean-tasting, not fishy and never greasy.
- 37 min
- Serves 3
- Steam
- Easy
Why it suits you: Phlegm-damp types tend to carry extra weight and feel heavy and sluggish, and Major Heat's muggy air adds to the damp, so greasy food easily bloats them. Lotus leaf clears summer-heat and resolves damp, shiitake supports the spleen and grass carp warms the stomach; tangerine peel moves qi and dries damp. Steamed with little oil, it leaves you light, not stuffed.
Method
Prep 25 min · Cook 12 min- 1Soak the lotus leaf in hot water for 15 minutes until pliable, then rinse and pat dry. Soak and shred the shiitake and tangerine peel.
- 2Pat the fish dry and marinate with salt, ginger, tangerine peel, cornflour and half the soy sauce for 10 minutes.
- 3Lay the lotus leaf in a steamer basket or shallow dish, add the fish and shiitake and loosely fold the leaf over.
- 4Steam over a high heat for 10–12 minutes once the water boils. Open the leaf, top with spring onion and pour over the hot oil and remaining soy sauce.
Cautions
- Fish belly has small bones, so take care, especially with children and older diners.
Chef's tips
- Dried lotus leaves are sold at herbal and dried-goods shops, and one leaf cut up does two or three meals; don't oversteam the fish or it toughens.
The TCM view
Lotus leaf is bitter, astringent and neutral, clearing summer-heat, resolving damp and lifting clear yang — the Bencao Gangmu says it 'raises the original qi and aids the spleen and stomach'. Grass carp is sweet and warm, warming the stomach and harmonising the middle; shiitake is sweet and neutral, tonifying spleen qi; tangerine peel is pungent, bitter and warm, moving qi and drying damp. It clears damp without depleting.
