Black Pepper-Mustard Sauce

Why This Recipe Works

When we tested steamed fish recipes, we found the two most important variables affecting cooking time to be the thickness and texture of the individual fish. Times are more affected by the thickness of the fillet or steak, for example, than by weight or size; as long as they are roughly the same thickness, an 8-ounce salmon fillet and a 1-pound salmon fillet take the same amount of time to cook. The easiest and most effective way to add flavor to our steamed fish recipe was to steam the fish on a thick bed of herbs or other aromatics such as onion, lemon, or ginger. A simple sauce drizzled on the fish added even more flavor.