My wife and I went to a Thai restaurant last week and ordered something like this, so I decided to try to make something similar; after consulting a few different recipes, this is my quite coriander-y version. It's quite easy to do if you know how to steam a fish and I imagine is quite healthy, not to mention very delicious. You don't need to do any seasoning of the fish as the sauce elevates it nicely.
Like many Thai dishes, there is a balancing act of getting the sweet (sugar), sour (lime), salt (fish sauce) and spice (chilli) just right, and of course the copious quantity of coriander brings its own dimension.
Ingredients
*Note on chicken broth: You don't want a cloudy French-style stock such as Heinz or Pacific for this recipe. The brand I used for this is Swanson Clear Chicken Broth which doesn't contain things like mirepoix base and is typically used for Chinese soups, hotpots, etc.
**Note on spice: I had some 'normal' red chillies in my fridge so used those, but my wife said it wasn't spicy enough so next time I'll go for the birds-eyes.
Clockwise from top: lime juice, coriander, fish, chilli, garlic, palm sugar, stock, my mini bottle of fish sauce.
Get your fish into the steamer:
Get your sauce going by dissolving the sugar into the stock:
Mix in the remaining ingredients:
My naked cooked fish! Tip the sauce over the top to get the end result at the top!
Like many Thai dishes, there is a balancing act of getting the sweet (sugar), sour (lime), salt (fish sauce) and spice (chilli) just right, and of course the copious quantity of coriander brings its own dimension.
Ingredients
- 1 whole fish (I used a seabass, but any firm neutral tasting white fish will do)
- 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
- 1 large handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped
- 4-6 medium cloves of garlic minced
- 1/2 cup clear chicken broth*
- 1 tbsp palm sugar crushed finely (if yours comes as small rocks like mine)
- 4 tbsp lime juice
- 3 tbsp Thai fish sauce
- 2 birds-eye chillies** finely sliced
- Gather your ingredients
- Set your steamer on the heat to get the water up to a boil.
- Meanwhile, Score the fish on both sides with a knife, then insert the ginger into the cavity.
- When your water is boiling, put your fish on a plate and steam it for 9 minutes (varies depending on its thickness, check it's opaque near the backbone with a knife).
- While the fish is steaming, make the sauce: In a small saucepan, warm the chicken stock and dissolv the sugar into it.
- Once the sugar is dissolved, pour it in a bowl and add all the other ingredients and stir.
- When the fish is done, lift if from the steamer using a slice onto your serving plate
- Tip the sauce over the top and serve!
*Note on chicken broth: You don't want a cloudy French-style stock such as Heinz or Pacific for this recipe. The brand I used for this is Swanson Clear Chicken Broth which doesn't contain things like mirepoix base and is typically used for Chinese soups, hotpots, etc.
**Note on spice: I had some 'normal' red chillies in my fridge so used those, but my wife said it wasn't spicy enough so next time I'll go for the birds-eyes.
Clockwise from top: lime juice, coriander, fish, chilli, garlic, palm sugar, stock, my mini bottle of fish sauce.
Get your fish into the steamer:
Get your sauce going by dissolving the sugar into the stock:
Mix in the remaining ingredients:
My naked cooked fish! Tip the sauce over the top to get the end result at the top!
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