Cantonese Lotus Leaf Fish (He Ye Zheng Yu / 荷叶蒸鱼)
Guangdong Province — Cantonese aromatic cooking tradition
A more elaborate version of the Cantonese steamed fish tradition: the whole fish (or large fillet) is dressed with ginger, spring onion, soy, and sesame, wrapped in a lotus leaf, and steamed. The lotus leaf imparts its distinctive herbal, grassy fragrance throughout the fish during steaming. The leaf acts as both a flavouring and a moisture-retention vessel, creating an extraordinarily fragrant result.