Raw Fish 3: Cambodian koy pa

This version of citrus-marinated raw fish is eaten in Cambodia and Laos. The fish sauce, or nuoc mam is an essential ingredient, but can be substituted with more commonly-imported fermented fish sauces from other South-east Asian countries.

Ingredients to serve 4-6

• 500g white fish fillet
• ½ cup lemon juice
• 6 tender raw green beans, thinly sliced
• 4 spring onions, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 fresh red chilli, seeded and sliced
• 1 tbs fish sauce
• lettuce, mint and coriander leaves for serving

Remove all skin and bones from the fish and chop finely. Put it into a glass or earthenware bowl and pour lemon juice over. Mix and leave for 3 hours or overnight in the refrigerator, then combine with the other ingredients.

To serve, put some of the fish mixture in the the centre of a lettuce leaf, add a sprig of mint or a few leaves of coriander. Fold and eat.

Note: for those who own a microwave oven, microwaving a lemon for 30 seconds persuades it to yield a lot more juice.

Adapted from Charmaine Solomon's Complete Asian Cookbook.