Ingredients

Serves 4

Lemon Coconut Fish
½ onion, diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tbsp finely sliced lemongrass
2 cm knob ginger, finely chopped
1cm knob fresh turmeric or 1tsp powdered turmeric
2cm knob of galangal, minced
½ small red chili, seeded and sliced
8 coriander roots, wash well and chop finely
½ can (200ml) coconut cream
2 Kaffir lime leaves
4 filets boneless blue grenadier or any other firm white fish fillets
1 tomato, cut into thin wedges
½ tsp sea salt
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp finely sliced Thai basil leaves
2 tbsp roughly chopped mint


Wok Fried Greens in Lime and Coconut
1 tsp dark roasted sesame oil
1 garlic clove, finely sliced
1slice ginger, slice into fine matchsticks
1 tsp chilli, remove seeds and cut into fine strips
30 gm raw cashews
3 spring onion stems, cut into fine diagonal strips
3 bunches Asian greens (bok choy, choy sum and Chinese cabbage)
Washed and cut into bite size pieces

Lime and Coconut Sauce:
1 tsp shoyu
2 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp coconut cream

 

Raw slaw
200gm green cabbage, shredded finely
200gm red cabbage, shredded finely
½ carrot, fine matchsticks
1 celery stick, sliced on a thin diagonal
1 green apple, finely sliced
5 red radishes, finely sliced
2 tbsp roughly chopped mint
1 small handful shiso leaves
30gm raisins
50gm roasted and chopped walnuts
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp brown rice vinegar
2 tsp mirin

Method

Lemon Coconut Fish
This delish fish dish requires you to go to an Asian grocer to hunt down the marinade ingredients - that’s the only difficult part! This marinade also works well in a Thai style vegetable and tofu curry.

To make the marinade, put the onion, garlic, lemongrass, ginger, turmeric, galangal, chilli and coriander root in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the coconut cream and continue to blend until well incorporated.

Pour this marinade over the fish fillets in a bowl, adding the Kaffir lime leaves. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. 

Add the fish and half the marinade to a frying pan over medium heat with the tomato and sea salt, and cook for 7 minutes or until the fish flakes easily. Alternatively, cook the fish under a hot grill.

Serve with a generous squeeze of lemon juice and a scattering of basil and mint leaves.

 

Wok Fried Greens in Lime and Coconut
This is a delicious and quick Asian greens side dish with a little bite that goes well with fish, grilled tempeh or tofu.

To make the sauce, whisk the ingredients in a bowl to combine and set aside.

Heat the sesame oil in a wok or heavy-based frying pan over high heat and sauté the garlic for 1 minute. Add the ginger and chilli and fry for a further minute before adding the cashews. Stir fry for 2 minutes, or until the nuts are brown.

Add the spring onions and Asian greens and stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the leaves start to wilt. Increase the heat and stir in the sauce for 1 minute to coat the vegetables.  Serve hot.

 

Raw Slaw
This is a fantastically fresh and crisp salad – enjoy it as a refreshing side dish to a heavy meal. If you like, prepare it ahead of time as it will keep fresh in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Combine the cabbage, carrot, celery, apple, radish, mint and shiso leaves into a large bowl. Sprinkle the sea salt over and mix thoroughly with your hands, using a kneading motion. Place the ingredients in a pickle press or cover with a plate and weigh down with a heavy object for 1-2 hours.

Meanwhile, roast the walnuts in a pre heated 170°C oven for 7 minutes, or until golden. Allow to cool, then roughly chop and set aside.

Remove the ingredients from the pickle press and squeeze out the excess liquid. If the mixture is too salty, rinse quickly under cold water in a fine sieve. Transfer to a serving bowl, fold in the roasted walnuts and raisins and pour on the brown rice vinegar and mirin. Mix well and serve.

 

Tony Chiodo is the author of Feel Good Food, Hardie Grant, RRP: $45.00