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1
Place the fish head skin-side down on a heatproof plate large enough to hold it flat. Using a heavy cleaver, split the head longitudinally with a single confident, decisive chop — hesitation produces a ragged cut. The two halves should lie flat and stable. The dish lives or dies here: a clean split ensures even steaming and an even chilli blanket.
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2
Scatter the chopped garlic, ginger, and fermented black beans evenly across the cut surface of the fish. Pack the duo jiao generously over the entire surface — the fish head should be effectively buried under chilli. No bare flesh should remain visible. The quantity will seem excessive; it is not.
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3
Set up a steamer large enough to hold the plate without tilting. Bring the water to a vigorous boil. Place the plate inside, cover tightly, and steam over high heat for 8–10 minutes. The fish is done when the flesh at the thickest part of the head has turned opaque and pulls away cleanly from the bone under light pressure with a chopstick.
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4
Remove the plate from the steamer immediately. Scatter the spring onion rings over the surface. In a small saucepan or wok, heat 3–4 tablespoons of neutral oil over the highest flame until it is smoking — the surface will shimmer and the first wisps of smoke are visible. Pour the oil from a height directly over the chilli, spring onion, and fish in a single swift pass. The immediate, violent sizzle and aromatic bloom confirm the oil is at the correct temperature; a faint sizzle means the oil was insufficient or too cool.