Grilled Red Mullet With Thai Dipping Sauce

 Grilled Red Mullet with Thai Dipping Sauce

 The inspiration for this dish comes from the legendary Pong’s restaurant barbecue on Thong Nai Pan Noi on Koh Samui, an idyllic paradise in Thailand that became my home for months on end, year after year, during my university days. At Pong’s they served this dipping sauce with mussels at their weekly Wednesday barbecue. It’s a revelation – the sweet, spicy, salty kick of flavours is so unexpected and my tastebuds have never been the same again. Here I have replaced the mussels with a British classic, red mullet.

SERVES 4

For the red mullet:

rapeseed oil

4 whole red mullet, scaled, cleaned and gutted

4 tablespoons chopped coriander (cilantro) stalks

2 limes, sliced

2 teaspoons sea salt

2 teaspoons white pepper

For the Thai dipping sauce:

120ml (4fl oz/1⁄2 cup) freshly squeezed lime juice

120ml (4fl oz/1⁄2 cup) fish sauce

2 tablespoons palm sugar

2 tablespoons chopped coriander (cilantro)

2 tablespoons finely chopped Thai shallots

1 tablespoon ground dried bird’s-eye chillies

2 teaspoons toasted and ground glutinous rice powder

To serve:

2 Dong’s flatbreads

4 tablespoons chopped coriander (cilantro)

2 tablespoons chopped mint

2 teaspoons toasted and ground glutinous rice powder