A quick and healthy dinner, ready in 30 minutes or less. This steamed fish with garlic, lemon, ginger and herbs is inspired by the steamed fish from Zelda Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.

Fishing is one of those things in Zelda Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom that I think evolves over time for most people. On a side note, I also find it really interesting how many games include fishing, either as a means of food or for quests or profit. By far, fishing in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom (at least for me) is way easier than in Stardew Valley. Don’t even get me started on that.

Steamed fish in Zelda Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom: any fish + any herb, vegetable, or flower

When my partner and I first started playing Breath of the Wild we didn’t look anything up. The first time time we ran into a lynel was hilarious. We took the Lanayru road up to the East Gate, heading towards Mount Lanayru.

Our sole intention was to solve the “Secret of the Cedars” shrine quest; I don’t think we even had the map of the area yet. When we first saw the lynel through the East Gate, we thought, “What is that thing? Looks kind of cute.”

Then of course we got closer and it brutally demolished us. Upon respawning, we tried escaping the lynel by running up the hill towards Purifier Lake. Of course, what did we find right before the lynel shot us with another flurry of electric arrows? A hinox.

I remember exclaiming loudly, “WHAT IS THAT?” moments before our second untimely demise. Literally I was scared of going up that mountain and even more terrified of lynels and hinoxes for months afterwards. It’s funny now but … anyways, onto the fish.

There’s a few different ways to fish in Breath of the Wild. Of course, the most elementary way to catch fish is just to jump in the water and swim around after them. This is much easier with either the Zora armor, the stealth armor, or the salvager armor. Stealth elixirs also work so that the fish aren’t quite so alarmed by your presence.

You can also use round or cube bombs to collect fish. I love using this method, both for fishing and conquering monster caves – more on that another time. Just find a few fish, throw in a bomb and detonate. The fish float up to the surface afterwards, so you can jump in and collect them.

One of the easiest ways to fish, especially for more seasoned players, is to use electric shock arrows. Just stand at a vantage point and shoot an electric arrow into the midst of the fish. The electricity will spread out and electrify everything within its reach, so you can potentially get quite a large number of fish with one arrow, especially if you use bait.

Using bait is something I didn’t learn about for quite a long time. I believe there is quite a bit more to this – which types of bait to use for certain fish, but this is just the basics on bait. If you toss some food items into the water, fish will begin to flock around them, feeding. This allows you to easily use remote bombs or shock arrows to effectively collect a large haul of fish, just remember to pick up your food items afterwards too! I found that generic shrooms and bananas work pretty well for this purpose.

So, with all this in mind, here’s the recipe for steamed fish!

---

Steamed Fish With Lemon, Ginger and Herbs

This simple steamed fish recipe makes 4 servings. It’s ready in 30 minutes or less; perfect for when you need to throw together a quick nutritious meal.

Ingredients

• 4 white fish fillets or steaks – cod, mahi-mahi, halibut, etc.
• few cups of water for steaming (depends on your pot size)
• 1/4 cup green onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup grated ginger
• zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1/4 cup minced garlic
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley

Tools

• steaming pot (choose 1 of 3)
• double boiler with a lid
• OR medium-large saucepan with a lid + trivet to sit inside
• OR medium-large pot + bamboo steamer basket with a lid to sit on top of the pot
• cutting board
• garlic mincer
• grater/zester
• hand juicer (or a fork)
• kitchen scissors (for the fresh herbs)
• small saucepan
• cooking spoon
• flipper / spatula (for serving)

Instructions

1. Prepare the ingredients.

• Mince the garlic.
• Grate the ginger.
• Cut or chop the fresh herbs.
• Zest and juice the lemon.

2. Prepare the steaming pan or pot.

• Add water: Fill the bottom of the saucepan / double boiler / pot with a few cups of water. This should be enough water that it won’t boil dry, but not so much that it will make contact with the fish while boiling.
• Add the steaming platform: Place the trivet in the saucepan / the steamer pot on the double boiler* / the bamboo basket on the pot*.

*Note: If using a double boiler, lightly grease the steamer basket with some oil. If using a bamboo steamer, then add a circle of baking parchment inside the basket before adding the fish.

3. Add the fish and toppings.

• Place the pieces of fish onto the trivet or into the steamer basket.
• Spread the grated ginger, green onions, and lemon zest over the top of the fish.

4. Cook the fish.

• Cover the fish with a lid (whichever lid corresponds with your choice of saucepan, double boiler or bamboo steamer).
• Use high heat to bring the water under the fish to a boil.
• Steam the fish for 4-10 minutes.*

*The cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the pieces of fish you’re using. A thin filet will take 4 minutes, an average fillet about 6, and a thick fish steak could take at least 10.

*If you are cooking the fish from frozen, add an extra 10-15 minutes to the cooking time.

5. While the fish is steaming, make the sauce.

• In a small saucepan, heat the oil and garlic over high heat until it begins to simmer.
• Turn the heat down to medium and sauté the garlic for 1-2 minutes.
• Add the soy sauce and lemon juice and stir.
• Turn the heat down to low; keep the sauce warm until the fish is ready.

6. Plate the fish.

• Examine the fish to see if it is fully cooked. Once ready the fish will be an opaque white the whole way through, and flake easily.
• Use a spatula to scoop up the pieces of fish, one by one, and transfer them to serving plates.
• Drizzle each piece of fish with the warm sauce.
• Top with fresh parsley, salt, and pepper if desired.

---

Tasty Fragrant Steamed Fish

We served this fish with sautéed mushrooms, gai lan, and jasmine rice. This recipe pairs beautifully with rice and sautéed vegetables, or serve it all by itself. The fish sauce blends together with anything you serve it over, unifying the different flavours of your dinner.

If you want to make this recipe a bit spicier you could chop up a few jalapeños to add on top of the fish, or you could pour the heated sauce over some ground chili pepper flakes and stir that up before drizzling it over the fish.

Did you make this steamed fish? Let me know!