Follow this easy recipe for steamed fish in banana leaf; it might become your new favorite way to cook fish! Steamed cod is a healthy lean protein that is packed with essential vitamins and minerals. Unlike when you steam fish in parchment paper, steamed fish in banana leaves imparts a subtle flavor to seafood. It’s the perfect cooking method for mild white fishes such as cod!

Today I’ve got a really great recipe for my healthy people, my foodies, and my healthy foodies. We’re going to be steaming cod in banana leaves. It makes some of the best steamed fish!

Oh my goodness, I LOVE fish cooked in banana leaves. Have you tried this yet?

Banana leaves can be tough to find, but I think it is worth the effort of seeking them out. I had to go to so many stores to find a local source. When I was lucky enough to find a source for frozen banana leaves, you can bet I stocked up!

Unfortunately, that store has since closed. With this recipe, I’ve finally used the last of my stockpile of banana leaves. That means I’ll be purchasing my banana leaves online from now on.

Amazon carries frozen banana leaves, but they’re quite expensive! I don’t know about you, but that is far beyond my grocery budget for an item that doesn’t even get eaten. I only paid a couple dollars for a package of frozen banana leaves locally.

🐟 Steamed Fish in Banana Leaf Ingredients

If you can’t find banana leaves locally, no worries, you don’t need to spend a fortune getting them. Amazon also carries fresh banana leaves, and the prices are much more reasonable. That’s what I use now when I want banana leaves to steam fish.

The fresh leaves don’t fall apart as easily as the frozen and thawed leaves do. That’s a definite benefit of going with fresh. They’ll be no waste since any leftover fresh leaves can (of course) be frozen for later use.

If you’re feeling apprehensive about purchasing fresh greens from Amazon sellers, let me say I’ve had good experiences in the past. I’ve bought fresh curry leaves from Amazon and was extremely pleased with how fresh and fragrant they were.

Of course, you’re taking more of a risk if you live in a sweltering climate far away from the seller. There’s going to be more opportunity for your banana leaves to yellow and dry out.

Here’s the rest of your shopping list for banana leaf wrapped fish:

• Cod fillets (about ½-inch thick or 1.27 cm)
• Orange, lemon, or lime slices
• Fresh lime juice
• Fresh basil
• Salt and pepper

Specific quantities of all ingredients are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post!

If you don’t want to make a steamed cod recipe, you’re welcome to make steamed fish with another white fish. Aim to use fish fillets that are about 5-6 ounces each and ½-inch thick. Otherwise, the cooking time may change.

What fish is good for steaming?

You can steam just about any fish with good results! Sea bass, halibut, flounder, catfish, haddock, whiting, tilapia, salmon, perch, and grouper are some of the many options. Steaming time will vary depending on the weight and thickness of the fish filets.

🍌 Banana Leaf Recipes

What can you cook in banana leaves? Perhaps the best-known banana leaves recipe is the Laos fish recipe Mok Pa. In this dish, fish is steamed in banana leaf packets with kaffir lime leaves, garlic, fermented fish sauce, spring onion, lemongrass, sticky rice powder, and herbs.

Some of the ingredients in Laos Laos fish can be difficult to come across in the U.S. Luckily, if you spring for the banana leaves, they’re great for many things beyond seafood. I’ve formed them into cones and steamed coconut rice in them.

I’ve also heard of folks using banana leaves to wrap tamales instead of corn husks. Honestly, I’ve never tried that, but I am intrigued.

Also, if food prep for a Hawaiian luau is in your future, the banana leaves can be used to wrap your kalua pig. Be sure to let me know what time to come over!

There are many vegan and vegetarian banana leaf recipes if you don’t eat fish. You can steam veggies and noodles wrapped in banana leaves, for example. Using the banana leaf as a bowl after steaming makes for a very nice presentation of the dish.

🍲 Banana Leaf Steamed Fish Equipment

Aside from obtaining the actual banana leaves themselves, there is some special kitchen equipment that you’ll need for this one. First, you’re going to need a steamer large enough to hold the fish packets.

I have a large bamboo steamer that I picked up for around $20 at a store that specializes in East Asian foods. There are similar steamers available for around the same price on Amazon.

There are about one million things that you can use the steamer for. I’ve made everything from Chinese pork buns to packets of steamed whole grains in my bamboo steamer.

If your goal is weight loss, steamers are an excellent way to cook foods without added oils. In this recipe, I’m adding citrus juices and herbs to the steamed cod packets. Steaming is a great cooking method if you want to make healthy, low-calorie meals.

A second thing you’ll need for this recipe is a pot large enough to hold your bamboo steamer. The steamer works by sitting on a pot of boiling water.

You don’t want the steamer to fall off of the pot while you’re steaming. If your banana leaf packets split, that is going to be a terrible mess to clean up.

I use my large cast-iron Dutch oven for the boiling water. It is big and heavy enough to hold the bamboo steamer without worries that it will tip over. Try the different pots in your kitchen until you find one that feels sturdy under the steamer.

Additionally, you may want to tie your banana leaves closed with kitchen twine. Alternatively, you can tie banana leaf packets with the tough ends you trim from the leaves.

Finally, you’ll need kitchen shears to cut the leaves and a meat thermometer to ensure the fish is done.

🔪 Steamed Fish in Banana Leaf Recipe Tips

Let’s talk about how to make fish in banana leaf! If your banana leaves are frozen, you need to let them thaw before using.

Make sure you rinse the leaves thoroughly and pat them dry. Bird poo is not an ingredient we want in this recipe. Hahaha

Banana leaves typically have a tough end that makes folding the leaves into a packet difficult. You need to trim these tough ends off with kitchen shears. You don’t need to heat the banana leaves before folding if you remove the stems first.

If you cut the tough end off of each leaf in a long, unbroken piece, you can use it to tie the packets shut. Check out the photos and recipe video to see what the tough ends look like, as well as how I fold the packets. Wrapping fish in banana leaves is not too tricky with some visuals on the process.

If you want to season your cod differently than I did here, that’s fine. However, the strength of the flavorings and seasonings should vary by the steaming method. With this type of steaming, I recommend keeping things very mild to best enjoy the subtle flavors of the banana leaves.

I’d save something like a robust lemon-butter sauce for cod steamed in parchment, i.e., cod en papillote. I mean, if we’re going to go to the trouble of finding banana leaves, let’s not overshadow their mildly grassy, herbaceous aroma! Otherwise, there really isn’t a good reason not to use parchment for steaming instead.

🔥 How to Steam Fish in Banana Leaf

Here are the step-by-step directions for steaming fish in banana leaf:

1. Fill the Dutch oven ⅔-¾ of the way full with water. Bring it to a boil over medium heat.

2. Prepare the fresh banana leaves by rinsing well and patting dry. Cut the leaves into 12-14 inches (30.5-35.6 cm) lengths. Trim the tough stem end off of each leaf, but save the ends.

3. To make a cod packet, take two banana leaves and place one perpendicularly over the other (i.e., make a cross shape).

4. Place 3 citrus slices in the middle of the packet. Lay one fish fillet on top. Sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon of lime juice, ½ tablespoon of fresh basil, and salt and pepper to taste. Repeat with the remaining two packets.

5. To wrap your packets, you will need to make four folds. Wrap the right edge of the leaf over the seasoned fish. Now wrap the left edge of the leaf over the fish, so it is snug in the packet.

6. Fold the bottom edge of the packet under, and tie closed with a reserved tough leaf end (or you can use kitchen twine). Finally, fold the top edge of the packet under, and secure by tying closed with a tough leaf end.

7. Wrap the remaining packets. After all of the packets are wrapped, tied, and placed in the steamer, put the cover on the steamer. Carefully place the steamer on top of your Dutch oven that contains the boiling water.

⏲ How Long to Steam Fish in Banana Leaf

How long should you steam a fish for? Steam the fish packets over medium heat for 15-20 minutes.

The exact steaming time will depend on the thickness of the fish pieces that you start with. It may also depend on the size of your steamer. I use two steamer “shelves” for three fish packets, 1-2 packets per shelf.

😋 How do you know that steamed fish is cooked?

Use a meat thermometer to check that the fish reached a minimum safe internal temp of 145F (63C). This is the best way to ensure steamed fish is fully cooked. Additionally, cooked fish flakes easily with a fork, and is opaque.

The general rule is that you should cook fish at 10 minutes per inch of thickness. However, I find this doesn’t work in many recipes, and the fish ends up under or overcooked. A meat thermometer is the safest way to ensure your fish is properly cooked.

Speaking of overcooked, the best way to prevent fish from becoming rubbery is being careful not to overcook it. White fish, such as cod, can become overcooked quite easily. It’s important to keep a close eye on fish during steaming to prevent overcooking.

🤔 How to Serve Steamed Cod

This steam fish in banana leaf recipe is a low-calorie, low-fat entrée that is low-carb friendly as well. If you want to keep the meal supportive of weight loss, pair it with lots of non-starchy veggies and/or low-calorie fruit.

Here, I filled half of my plate with a sweet and refreshing watermelon cucumber salad. You can throw this simple side together quickly while the cod steams. You can find the recipe for this side dish in the recipe card below.

Both watermelon and cucumbers are high in water content. You’re getting a hydrating side dish with this one that provides plenty of volume to fill you up! (Try this Keto Cucumber Salad instead if you need a low carb alternative!)

I also added some wild rice for additional fiber (and also, I tend to enjoy rice with fish). Feel free to substitute brown rice, quinoa, or another favorite whole grain instead.

🌡️ How to Reheat Steamed Cod

Leftover steamed cod can be kept in a covered container in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. However, it’s best to enjoy it freshly cooked for the highest quality. To reheat, you can microwave the fish (without the banana leaves) for 30-45 seconds on high.

📋 Steamed Banana Leaf Fish Calories

One serving of steamed fish in banana leaf has 108 calories, 0.5 gram net carbs, and 18.7 grams protein. Steamed fish is a gluten free, low carb, high protein, and keto friendly food.

FAQs

How long do you steam frozen fish?

It can take up to twice as long for steamed frozen fish compared to fresh. The general rule is it takes 20 minutes per inch of thickness to steam fish from frozen. However, this steaming time can vary depending on a variety of factors.

Are banana leaves poisonous?

Eating banana leaf may not kill you, but you may experience digestive disturbance if you eat them. Banana leaves are great for flavoring food, and to use as a plate, but not they’re not fit for human consumption.

What’s a good banana leaf alternative?

There’s more than one way to steam a fish! To make steamed fish without banana leaf, you could use parchment paper packets. Corn husks and bamboo leaves are some other banana leaf substitutes.

Can you make grilled fish in banana leaves?

Yes! Here is a highly rated recipe from Food & Wine Magazine for Fish Grilled in Banana Leaves. Mackerel is the fish used on the grill.

How to make steamed fish in banana leaf Kerala style?

The Indian Kerala style fish in banana leaf is a dish of pearl spot or pomfret fish cooked with masala sauce. Here is a recipe for this dish, called Kerala Meen Pollichathu, that you can try.

How to make steamed fish in banana leaf Bengali style?

Bengali fish in banana leaf is another dish from Indian cuisine. Here, barramundi fish is smothered in mustard paste and wrapped in banana leaf. Here’s where to try this recipe: Bengali Bhetki Paturi.

How to make Thai steamed fish in banana leaf?

One Thai version of this dish has the fish in banana leaf with coconut milk. Spiced coconut milk is used as a marinade for the fish, and the fish may also be steamed with it.

👨‍🍳 Other Fish Recipes

Here are some other simple recipes for fish you may enjoy:

• Air Fryer Frozen Tilapia
• Frozen Cod in Air Fryer
• Air Fryer Sea Bass
• Recipe for Orange Roughy

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