First thing we need to do is to clean the fish, and this is easy as these have tiny scales. You can do this in the kitchen sink under running water without making a mess. Rinse the fish off, then take a spoon and scrape from the tail to the head, the skin will be smooth where there is no scales, this takes just a minute or two. After they are scaled, rinse the fish one more time.

Now we need to gut the fish, using a sharp knife, make a cut on the bottom, behind the head, down to the vent, just before the fin on the bottom towards the rear. Just cut through the belly. Set the knife aside and with your fingers, you need to scoop out the insides, pay attention to the backbone, that is where the liver is, the red part, you need to remove that, it actually comes out easy. Rinse the fish under running water and make sure the inside is cleaned out including the liver along the backbone.

At this point it is up to you if you want the head on or off. To remove the head, cut just behind the pectoral fin, the fin on the side, right behind the head, cut straight through at a bit of angle. Discard the head.

Make 3-4 diagonal shallow cuts across the fish on each side.

Place the fish on a heatproof dish that will fit inside of your steamer tray with a gap around it to let steam pass through.

Heat your steamer, whether that is a pot with a steamer basket or a rice cooker with a steamer tray.

In a small bowl, add the garlic, chili, soy sauce, wine, and sesame oil. Mix together well.

Pour the sauce over the fish, yes, the liquid is going to go into the dish, I know this, goal is to keep the garlic and chilies on top. The dish will heat and impart flavor as well.

When the water is boiling in your steamer, use a plate gripper (highly recommended), place the dish in the steamer, cover, and let the fish steam for 8-10 minutes.

Remove the dish using a plate gripper and serve with rice on the side.