Place the fish, clams, shrimp, shiitake, and vegetables in a shallow, heatproof bowl so as to catch the juices. Place the bowl over a steamer basket, if using. Season with the coconut aminos and sesame oil, and salt and pepper.
Steam over medium to medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. Remove from the pot and set aside the shrimp and asparagus as they tend to cook faster than other ingredients. Cover them to keep warm.
Continue steaming the rest of the ingredients further until the fish is buttery and flaky and the clams are open.
Place the steamed ingredients in a serving bowl. You can either enjoy them as they are with the juices in the bowl or strain the seafood juices through a sieve (save this stock for later use) and serve with the dipping oil. Serve hot and immediately.
Notes
I Heart Umami Scallion-Ginger Dipping Oil (Makes about ⅔ cup)
4 scallions, chopped and separated into white and green parts
1.5 teaspoons coarse salt, or to taste
Heat the avocado oil in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan. Test the oil temperature by adding one slice of garlic: if it starts bubbling right away, that means the temperature is correct. If the garlic burns too quickly, that means the temperature is too hot and the heat should be lowered.
Add the garlic, shallot, ginger, and white scallion parts to the oil. Cook until softened, stirring frequently to prevent them from burning. Season with salt to taste. You’ll want to aim on the slightly saltier side as this is a dipping sauce meant for plain boiled or steamed chicken, seafood (shrimp, white fish fillets), and/or vegetables (carrots, asparagus).
Once the mixture has softened and you can smell a nice aroma, turn off the heat. Stir in the green scallion parts and remove from the heat to let cool.
Serve the infused oil at room temperature. Store any extra in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Allow it to come to room temperature before using.
The nutritional label is calculated without the dipping sauce. You can serve the seafood dim sum with or without the dipping sauce.