Pan-Fried Coral Trout with Nam Jim Jaew

Place coral trout fillets on a plate skin side up, pat dry with paper towel and sprinkle with flaked sea salt. Set aside.

To make nam jim jaew, place chillies, garlic, shallots and coriander roots and stems in a mortar and pestle. Add a pinch of flaked sea salt then pound to a fine paste. Add sugar, fish sauce and lime juice; mix to dissolve sugar. Taste and adjust seasoning as required – it should be equal parts salty, sweet, sour and spicy. Alternatively, place ingredients in a small blender and pulse until desired consistency. Set aside.

To cook fish, heat oil in a large non-stick frying over medium heat. Add fish to the pan, skin side down and leave until the skin turns golden and crisp and the flesh is almost completely cooked through (the top 20 per cent of the fillet should still be raw). Remove pan from heat, flip fillets and allow to sit for 30 seconds. Remove fish from pan and set aside to rest for 5 minutes (fish will continue to cook through).

To serve, slice fillets crosswise and arrange on a serving plate. Drizzle over nam jim jaew, then sprinkle over toasted coconut flakes, lime leaves, fried shallots and coriander leaves.