• Home
  • RECIPE INDEX
  • EASY RECIPES
    • Easy Dinner
    • One-pot
    • Instant Pot
  • BY CUISINE
    • Asian Fusion
    • Chinese
    • Peranakan/Nyonya
    • CAMBODIA
    • LAOS
    • INDONESIAN
    • Indonesian Chinese
    • MALAYSIA
    • MYANMAR
    • SINGAPORE
    • Singapore Hawker Food
    • THAILAND
    • VIETNAM
  • BY COURSE
    • Breakfast
    • Dim Sum
    • Main Course
    • Soups/Stews
    • Salad
    • Sides
    • Condiments
    • Snacks
    • Desserts
  • INGREDIENTS
    • Rice & Grains
    • Noodles
    • Eggs
    • Tofu & Tempeh
    • Poultry
    • Red Meats
    • Pork
    • Seafood
  • SOURDOUGH
    • Sourdough Bread Recipes
    • Recipes Using Sourdough Discard
  • BREAD & BUNS
    • Steamed Buns
    • Bread with Yeast
    • No-Knead Bread
    • Quick Bread
  • CAKES/COOKIES/PASTRIES
    • Cakes
    • Chiffon Cakes
    • Sponge Cakes
    • Pastries
    • Cookies
    • Kue/Kueh
    • No-Bake Dessert
  • DIETARY
    • Gluten-free
    • Vegan
    • VEGETARIAN
    • CONFINEMENT
  • celebrate
    • Chinese New Year
    • Easter
    • Hari Raya
    • Dragon Boat Festival
    • Mooncake Festival
    • Thanksgiving
    • Winter Solstice
    • Christmas Cooking
    • Christmas Baking
What To Cook Today
  • ABOUT ME
    • CONTACT
  • Pantry
  • Shop
  • subscribe
  • Home
  • RECIPE INDEX
  • EASY RECIPES
    • Easy Dinner
    • One-pot
    • Instant Pot
  • BY CUISINE
    • Asian Fusion
    • Chinese
    • Peranakan/Nyonya
    • CAMBODIA
    • LAOS
    • INDONESIAN
    • Indonesian Chinese
    • MALAYSIA
    • MYANMAR
    • SINGAPORE
    • Singapore Hawker Food
    • THAILAND
    • VIETNAM
  • BY COURSE
    • Breakfast
    • Dim Sum
    • Main Course
    • Soups/Stews
    • Salad
    • Sides
    • Condiments
    • Snacks
    • Desserts
  • INGREDIENTS
    • Rice & Grains
    • Noodles
    • Eggs
    • Tofu & Tempeh
    • Poultry
    • Red Meats
    • Pork
    • Seafood
  • SOURDOUGH
    • Sourdough Bread Recipes
    • Recipes Using Sourdough Discard
  • BREAD & BUNS
    • Steamed Buns
    • Bread with Yeast
    • No-Knead Bread
    • Quick Bread
  • CAKES/COOKIES/PASTRIES
    • Cakes
    • Chiffon Cakes
    • Sponge Cakes
    • Pastries
    • Cookies
    • Kue/Kueh
    • No-Bake Dessert
  • DIETARY
    • Gluten-free
    • Vegan
    • VEGETARIAN
    • CONFINEMENT
  • celebrate
    • Chinese New Year
    • Easter
    • Hari Raya
    • Dragon Boat Festival
    • Mooncake Festival
    • Thanksgiving
    • Winter Solstice
    • Christmas Cooking
    • Christmas Baking
What To Cook Today
What To Cook Today
  • Home
  • ABOUT ME
    • CONTACT
  • SHOP
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • RECIPE INDEX
  • easy recipes
    • Easy Dinner
    • One-pot
    • Instant Pot
  • by course
    • Breakfast
    • Dim Sum
    • Main Course
    • Soups/Stews
    • Salad
    • Sides
    • Condiments
    • Snacks
    • Desserts
  • ingredients
    • Rice & Grains
    • Noodles
    • Eggs
    • Tofu & Tempeh
    • Poultry
    • Red Meats
    • Pork
    • Seafood
  • sourdough
    • Sourdough Bread Recipes
    • Recipes Using Sourdough Discard
  • bread & buns
    • Steamed Buns
    • Bread with Yeast
    • No-Knead Bread
    • Quick Bread
  • cakes/cookies/pastries
    • Cakes
    • Pastries
    • Chiffon Cakes
    • Sponge Cakes
    • Cookies
    • No-Bake Dessert
    • Kue/Kueh
  • dietary
    • Gluten-free
    • Vegan
    • VEGETARIAN
    • CONFINEMENT
  • celebrate
    • Chinese New Year
    • Easter
    • Hari Raya
    • Dragon Boat Festival
    • Mooncake Festival
    • Thanksgiving
    • Winter Solstice
    • Christmas Baking
    • Christmas Cooking

Steamed Fish with Chopped Chili and Preserved Radish/ Chai Poh

written by Marvellina Updated: December 20, 2021
7.7K
PIN RECIPE COMMENTS VIEW RECIPE
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Steamed Fish with Chopped Chili and Preserved Radish/ Chai Poh – Codfish is steamed and topped with sweet and crunchy preserved radish and chili and doused in sweet and savory sauce. This steamed fish with chai poh will become your weekly staple.

Steamed Fish with Chopped Chili and Preserved Radish/ Chai Poh

Steamed Fish with Chopped Chili and Preserved Radish/ Chai Poh

If it’s not obvious already, I love preserved radish (chai poh). This is the 3rd recipe using chai poh I’m sharing in the past two weeks 🙂 First the Chai Poh Neng (Omelet) and then Stir-fried Chai Poh with Pork Belly. Now this steamed fish with chopped chili and preserved radish to add to the chai poh collection 🙂
Steamed Fish with Chopped Chili and Preserved Radish/ Chai Poh
STEAMED FISH WITH CHOPPED CHILI AND PRESERVED RADISH/CHAI POH
I use codfish in this recipe. I think it’s perfect for this recipe because codfish is mild in taste and hold its shape nicely for presentation too. The codfish is like a blank canvas and it pairs well with the sweet topping and sweet-savory sauce.

WHAT OTHER FISH I CAN USE FOR THIS RECIPE?
I feel like white flesh fish is more suitable for this recipe. You can use whole fish instead of fillet too. You can use grouper, pomfret, seabass, halibut, threadfin (ngo her)
Steamed Fish with Chopped Chili and Preserved Radish/ Chai Poh
HOW TO PREPARE A PERFECT STEAMED FISH DISH?
1. Prepare the chai poh topping first
The topping is not temperature sensitive and so I suggest to prepare this first or even one day before if you want to save time
2. Prepare the sauce while fish is steaming
By the time the fish is done steaming, the sauce is ready too
3. Steam the fish last
As we don’t want to overcook the fish or cook the fish first and then it gets cold while you prepare other things, get everything else ready and cook those first and steam the fish only when you are ready to serve them. It only takes 8 minutes to steam
Steamed Fish with Chopped Chili and Preserved Radish/ Chai Poh
HOW TO MAKE STEAMED FISH WITH CHOPPED CHILI AND PRESERVED RADISH/CHAI POH IN A NUTSHELL
1. Soak chai poh to get rid of extra saltiness
2. Stir fry chai poh with chili and seasoning
3. Steam the fish for about 8 minutes
4. Prepare the sauce while the fish is steaming, by bringing it to a gentle simmer and cook until slightly thickened
5. Serve: Top the fish with chai poh topping and then drizzle with sauce and garnish with cilantro leaves
Steamed Fish with Chopped Chili and Preserved Radish/ Chai Poh
Steamed Fish with Chopped Chili and Preserved Radish/ Chai Poh
[disclosure]

Steamed Fish with Chopped Chili and Preserved Radish/ Chai Poh

Steamed Fish with Chopped Chili and Preserved Radish/ Chai Poh

Servings 2 servings
Please rate the recipe if you have tried it!
REVIEW & RATE PRINT

Ingredients

  • 500 gr cod fish fillet Other suitable fishes are sea bass, pomfret, kurau

Chai poh topping:

  • 200 gr sweet preserved radish/chai poh see notes
  • 2-3 red chilies
  • 1 Tbsp cooking oil
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 Tbsp dark soy sauce

Sauce:

  • 150 ml water
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp fish sauce
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 tsp corn starch

Garnish:

  • Fresh coriander leaves

Instructions
 

  • Soak chai poh for 3 minutes. Squeeze dry and chop finely. Chop red chilies, garlic, and coriander leaves. Set aside

Prepare chai poh topping:

  • Preheat a pan/skillet. Add cooking oil. Stir fry garlic and chili for about 10 seconds. Add chai poh, sugar, and soy sauce and stir fry for about 5 minutes. Have a taste. It should be sweet, spicy, and a bit salty. Add more salt or sugar to your taste. 

Prepare the sauce:

  • Mix all the ingredients for sauce in a bowl. Make sure the corn starch dissolves. Pour in a sauce pan and bring to a gentle simmer and cook until the sauce is slightly thickened

Steam the fish:

  • Rinse fish and pat dry with an absorbent paper towel. Place on a steaming dish and steam for about 8 minutes

Serving:

  • Place the fish on serving platter. Top with chai poh mixture. Drizzle over the sauce. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve immediately

Marv's Recipe Notes

Sometimes mom likes to mix the salty chai poh and sweet chai poh. You can definitely do so too if you like.
Did you make this recipe?Let me know how you like this recipe and consider rating it! Tag me @whattocooktoday I'd love to see your photos/videos on Instagram


previous post
FRIED CHICKEN 101
next post
BABY BACK RIBS WITH ESPRESSO BBQ SAUCE

2 comments

afra January 18, 2022 - 2:52 pm

I love you blog – hands down. I have cooked quite a few of your recipes and always enjoyed them. And every time I then go back to leave a comment I find myself enjoying myself with drooling over recipe after recipe. I have a massive collection of your recipes that are still on my to-cook list 🙂 Thank you so much for taking all the trouble to share these recipe!

Reply
Marvellina January 18, 2022 - 7:01 pm

Thank you for your kind words Afra!

Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Please feel free to ask questions here or leave your comments and ratings if you have tried the recipe! Your Email address will not be published!




Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hello! I'm Marvellina!

I’m passionate about food—especially bold, comforting Asian flavors—and I love sharing approachable recipes and creative bakes with an Asian twist. So glad you’re here! LEARN MORE...

Our Favorites

  • How To Make Soft and Fluffy Pandan Chiffon Cake (Complete Guide)

  • How to Make Basic Asian Rice Porridge (Congee)

  • Zha Jiang Mian (炸酱面) (Chinese Fried Sauce Noodles)

  • Easy Hokkien Bak Chang (Zongzi-Sticky Rice Dumplings)

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Youtube

©2025 - What To Cook Today. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy & Disclosure Policy


Back To Top
  • Home
  • ABOUT ME
    • CONTACT
  • SHOP
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • RECIPE INDEX
  • easy recipes
    • Easy Dinner
    • One-pot
    • Instant Pot
  • by course
    • Breakfast
    • Dim Sum
    • Main Course
    • Soups/Stews
    • Salad
    • Sides
    • Condiments
    • Snacks
    • Desserts
  • ingredients
    • Rice & Grains
    • Noodles
    • Eggs
    • Tofu & Tempeh
    • Poultry
    • Red Meats
    • Pork
    • Seafood
  • sourdough
    • Sourdough Bread Recipes
    • Recipes Using Sourdough Discard
  • bread & buns
    • Steamed Buns
    • Bread with Yeast
    • No-Knead Bread
    • Quick Bread
  • cakes/cookies/pastries
    • Cakes
    • Pastries
    • Chiffon Cakes
    • Sponge Cakes
    • Cookies
    • No-Bake Dessert
    • Kue/Kueh
  • dietary
    • Gluten-free
    • Vegan
    • VEGETARIAN
    • CONFINEMENT
  • celebrate
    • Chinese New Year
    • Easter
    • Hari Raya
    • Dragon Boat Festival
    • Mooncake Festival
    • Thanksgiving
    • Winter Solstice
    • Christmas Baking
    • Christmas Cooking

Let me know how you like the recipe and consider rating it!

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required