Asian sea bass recipe

Ingredients

• 4 small whole sea bass or bream (roughly 300 g each), gutted and scaled
• 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 stick of lemongrass
• 1 bunch of fresh coriander
• 1 fresh red chilli
• 2 spring onions
• 3 tbsp low-salt soy sauce, plus extra to serve
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• Sesame oil
• 2 limes

• 1 × 400 g tin of light coconut milk
• 1 coconut milk tin (300 g) of basmati rice

• 1 bunch of asparagus (300 g)
• 2 bok choi
• 200 g sugar snap peas
• 1 lime

1. Score the fish 5 times on each side down to the bone, then season all over and lay in a snug-fitting, high-sided tray. Pour in 400ml of boiling water, cover tightly with a double layer of tin foil and place on a medium-high heat to steam. Pour the coconut milk, 1 tin’s worth of rice and 1 tin of boiling water (use a tea towel) into the medium pan. Add a pinch of salt, stir well, cover and cook for roughly 10 minutes, stirring ocasionally, then turn the heat off. Pour the rest of the boiling water into the casserole pan
2. Peel the ginger, garlic and the outer leaves of the lemongrass, roughly chop them and put into the processor. Add the coriander stalks (reserving the leaves), chilli, trimmed spring onions, soy and fish sauces, 1 teaspoon of oil and the juice of 2 limes to the processor and pulse until finely chopped, then pour into a bowl.
3. Trim the asparagus, halve the bok choi and add both to the boiling water in the casserole pan with the sugar snaps. Cook for 2 minutes, then drain and toss with 1 tablespoon of oil and the juice of 1 lime, season to taste with soy sauce and serve with the fluffed-up rice. Uncover the fish, spoon some of its juices into the dressing, then pour everything back over the fish and serve scattered with coriander leaves.