RECIPE

Tahitian Coconut Mullet

Recipe.TV Test Kitchen

Serves: 2

Author: Chef Keda Black

Chef’s Note:
Tahiti is a French territory I visited as a young woman. It’s a wonderful place, the air is infused with the smell of exotic flowers. I loved to grab little boxes of this prepared fish at the market and eat it along with rice or fresh bread. It’s extremely refreshing and a great recipe for warmer days. This is my take on this simple recipe that uses raw fish, which I like to leave in the coconut milk and lime mixture for a few hours so that the fish is cooked by the acidity. If you prefer a more raw taste you can leave it in for a much shorter time.

Use the freshest fish of course, which you can freeze then defrost before making the recipe if you want to play it on the safest side. Or simply buy it from a trusted fishmonger which will fillet it for you. I’m using mullet here, which is cheap and abundant. You could also use a mix of white fish (bream, mullet, bass, etc.) and oily fish such as red tuna.

For this recipe, you should play with any citrus you have at hand and vary the herbs and vegetables. Just make sure you keep some crunchiness. Radishes would be good too. Of course, you could add chili for a spicier taste. Here I served it almost like a salad with good French-style sourdough bread. It’s great on rice, or as a filling for tortillas, paired with avocado and salad leaves.

Ingredients:
• ½ lb. filleted fish (mullet, tuna, bass, sea bream or a mix)
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 3-4 limes (or a mix of limes and lemons)
• 3 carrots
• 2 small cucumbers
• 2-3 spring onions
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1-inch piece fresh ginger, grated
• fresh mint
• salt

Instructions:
1. Peel and grate the carrots and mince the onions and cucumber. Set aside.

2. Mix the coconut milk, grated zest of one lime (or lemon), garlic, and ginger, (adjust to taste, as it can be quite fiery), salt, and the juice of your limes (or lemons). Adjust to taste.

3. Add in the carrots, onions, and cucumber to the mix.

4. Dice the fish (you want some bite to this so do cubes rather than thin slices) and mix in gently. Leave in the fridge, covered, for about 3 hours (up to half a day is quite safe, even 24 hours if your fish is really fresh).

5. Top with mint leaves (In this instance I used bergamot mint which is lovely) and serve.