Steamed whole fish with ginger and spring onion (Qingzheng yu)

1. Wash the whole cleaned fish (e.g. sea bass or bream), pat it dry and make 3 diagonal cuts down to the bone on each side; season inside and out with salt and drizzle with the Shaoxing rice wine.

2. Slice half the ginger thinly and cut two of the spring onions into long pieces; use them to make a bed on a heatproof plate, lay the fish on top and tuck some into the cavity too.

3. Set the plate in a steamer or on a rack in a covered wok and steam over rapidly boiling water for 8-10 minutes, until the flesh lifts easily away from the backbone.

4. Meanwhile, cut the remaining ginger and spring onions into hair-thin strips; bring the soy sauce, sugar and water to the boil in a small pan.

5. Lift out the fish, discard the liquid on the plate and the cooked onion bed, pile the fresh ginger and spring onion strips on top and pour the hot soy sauce around it.

6. Heat the oil until smoking and pour it sizzling over the onion strips; serve immediately with rice.

Tip: In Canton freshness is everything: the fish's eyes should be clear and its gills bright red. If you have no steamer, you can make it with fillets – then 5-6 minutes of steaming is enough.