About this recipe

✨

Recipe highlight

Why you’ll love it

If you want a fish dish that looks impressive, ranks hard in search, and is actually simple, pla pao is the move, salt crust protects moisture, high heat adds smoke, and the sauce makes it feel restaurant level. ✨

Ingredients

• Fish
• 🐟 1 whole sea bass or tilapia, cleaned, about 900–1000 g (2–2.2 lb)
• 🧻 10 g paper towels, for drying (a few sheets / 0.35 oz)
• 🧂 900 g coarse salt (3½ cups / 2 lb)
• 🥚 1 large egg white, optional for binding (1) egg
• 🌿 10 g cilantro stems, optional to stuff (½ cup / 0.35 oz)
• 🍃 6 g lemongrass, bruised, optional (1 stalk / 0.2 oz)
• Dipping sauce
• 🍋 30 ml lime juice (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz)
• 🥣 30 ml fish sauce (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz) seafood
• 🍯 10 ml sugar syrup (2 tsp / 0.34 fl oz)
• 🧄 12 g garlic, finely minced (4 cloves / 0.4 oz)
• 🌶️ 5 g Thai chili, thin sliced (1–2 chilies / 0.18 oz)
• 🌿 10 g cilantro, chopped (½ cup / 0.35 oz)
• Serve
• 🥬 200 g lettuce leaves (4 cups / 7 oz)
• 🥒 200 g cucumber, sticks (2 cups / 7 oz)
• 🍚 450 g cooked jasmine rice, optional (3 cups / 1 lb)

Preparation

• 1 Dry the fish Pat the fish very dry inside and out so the salt crust sets clean and grills evenly. 🧻
• 2 Optional aromatics Stuff the cavity with cilantro stems and bruised lemongrass for a more premium aroma, do not overpack. 🌿
• 3 Mix the salt crust In a bowl combine coarse salt with egg white if using, mix until it feels like damp sand that clumps when pressed. 🧂
• 4 Build the crust Lay a 1.5 cm (½ in) bed of salt on a tray, place fish on top, then pack the remaining salt all around and over the fish in a solid shell. 🐟
• 5 Preheat Heat grill to medium high, or heat oven to 220°C (428°F) with a hot tray inside. 🔥
• 6 Cook Grill covered 25–30 min, or bake 28–32 min, until the salt crust is hard and the fish smells roasted and rich. ⏳
• 7 Rest Rest 8 min so juices settle and the flesh stays juicy when opened. 🛋️
• 8 Make the dipping sauce Whisk lime juice, fish sauce, and sugar syrup until dissolved, then add garlic, chili, and cilantro. 🍋
• 9 Crack and peel Crack the salt shell, lift away big pieces, peel off the skin, then flake the fish into clean chunks, discard bones. 🥢 🔟 Serve Serve with lettuce, cucumber, rice, and the dipping sauce, build bites like a premium street wrap. 🥬

Timing details

Nutrition

Estimated values per serving.

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