Sauna fish is a table-side dish that has become popular in Shunde over the past two decades; the name borrows from the Nordic sauna. Its ancestor is stone cooking: stones heated until glowing are placed in a pot, sauce and stock are splashed over them, and the steam cooks the food and releases its aroma.[1]
Preparation
Today steaming is usual: a perforated steaming tray goes over a wok, a layer of luffa squash or lotus leaf is spread on it, and marinated boneless fish slices are laid flat on top. The lid goes on and the fish steams over high heat for two or three minutes, or stock at over 95 °C is poured in and the lid kept on for about ninety seconds; the heat is cut the moment the fish has just set and begun to curl at the edges. Spring onion and hot oil finish it, and the vegetable bed soaks up the juices. Medicated stock simmers in the pot below, catching the drippings, and is drunk after the fish.[1][2]
Variants
The same method gives sauna chicken and sauna shrimp, usually with free-range chicken or freshwater prawns, common in homes and private kitchens.[2]
[1]: Fengchu Vocational Training School, “桑拿鱼热气充盈鱼片挺，人间至味霎时成”. [2]: Xunwei Shunde, “#品味勒流#来顺德寻味必尝特色——桑拿鱼与桑拿鸡”.