Thai-style steamed fish

Name: Thai-style steamed fish
Prep time: 8 min
Cook time: 14 min
Total time: 22 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 2 Trout; Knob Ginger; 1 small finely diced Garlic Clove; 1 small finely diced Red Chilli; Juice/zest of one Lime; 3 Baby Pak Koi; 2 tblsp Soy Sauce

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Seafood recipe with Thai flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 39 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Step-by-step instructions

step 1.
Nestle the fish fillets side by side on a large square of foil and scatter the ginger, garlic, chilli and lime zest over them. Drizzle the lime juice on top and then scatter the pieces of pak choi around and on top of the fish. Pour the soy sauce over the pak choi and loosely seal the foil to make a package, making sure you leave space at the top for the steam to circulate as the fish cooks.
step 2.
Steam for 15 minutes. (If you haven’t got a steamer, put the parcel on a heatproof plate over a pan of gently simmering water, cover with a lid and steam.).

Why this works on a weeknight

Thai-style steamed fish genuinely fits a 30-minute weeknight window, which is why it earned a spot in our Skillet & One-Pan collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Thai-style steamed fish actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥘 Skillet & One-Pan Seafood Thai ⚡ 30-Min Dinner