Red Mullet Ceviche

Ingredients                                                                                           

Serves 3-4

1               Ripen Mango, half diced, half blended into coulis

150           Qwehli Red Mullet Fillets

1/2            Purple Onion, thinly sliced

1               Tbsp of fish sauce

1               Stalk of lemongrass, trimmed, peeled, and finely cut

1               Handful of cilantro

2-3            Fresh bird's eye chilies, chopped

Preparation                                                                                           

1 Defrost the fish – either leave that in the refrigerated section overnight, or for a faster method, put the whole frozen package in a water bath for 30-45 minutes.

2. Unpack the fish, run through the flesh to remove any bones and scales that might be left behind. Season mildly with salt.

3. In a large bowl, mix the lime juice, fish sauce and put in the lemongrass.

4. Cut the fish into thin slices and leave that in the bowl with the lime juice mixture.

5. Cling-wrap the bowl tight – to make sure the fish was completely submerged into the curing liquid – and leave in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, thinly sliced the purple onion and left them in an ice bath. Roughly chopped the chilies, removed the top and bottom and the seeds. Take a few cilantro leaves as garnishes. Set all aside.

7. For the mango, cut half into small dices (0.5cm) and the other blended into thick coulis consistency. Taste – add sugar if the mango was not ripe and sweet enough. The mango was supposed to balance the dish with sweetness not adding to the acidity. Set the diced mango aside and pour the coulis into a squeeze bottle.

8. To plate, use a large plate and a pair of tweezers or tongs, put the fish in a single layer in the middle, spread some onions, chilies and mango on top, dot the mango coulis on the side and in the center, and garnishes with cilantro and some lime zest.