Steamed Brook Trout With Salmon Caviar - cooking recipe

Ingredients

180 g bean thread noodles (cellophane)
3 lemongrass, stalks halved lengthways
4 spring onions, halved
6 fresh kaffir lime leaves, crushed
4 cm piece fresh ginger, sliced
3 garlic cloves, halved
500 ml fish stock (or little more, depending on size of pan)
4 (180 g) trout fillets (Brook or Rainbow Trout)
2 small chilies, finely sliced (Bird&rsquo,s eye red chillies)
280 g snow peas (mangetout)
4 fresh limes
1/2 teaspoon Thai fish sauce (to taste)
2 tablespoons salmon caviar
1/2 cup coriander leaves

Preparation

Place bean-thread noodles in a bowl and cover with boiling water to soften, (approx. 5 minutes).
Choose a large, deep-sided frying pan with a lid, that will just fit the aromatics so they can form a 'raft' on which to place the fish, so the fish can steam. To the dish, add the lemongrass and spring onions and scatter around the kaffir lime leaves, ginger and garlic, then gently pour the fish stock over . Bring to the boil over a high heat. Place the fish fillets on top, scatter with the chilli, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover with a lid. Cook for 5 minutes or until the fish is opaque at the edges and still pink in the middle. Scatter the snow peas around the pan in the last minute of cooking.
To serve, drain the noodles and divide between four bowls. Place the fish fillets on top. Stir the juice of 1 lime and the fish sauce through the fish stock and then discard the lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves. Taste and add more lime juice and fish sauce if necessary. Ladle the stock and snow peas around the fish. Top the fish with a heaped teaspoon of the salmon caviar and scatter over the coriander. Serve immediately with an extra lime cheek.