Ask someone who works in food to narrow down their favourite restaurant, or worse, their favourite dish, and you may as well have asked them to pick their favourite child. It makes sense that the question induces panic because a) London is easily one of the best places to eat in the world and; b) most people who work in food really like to eat. That said, I know that with a gun held to my head, I would respond with the same dish a thousand times without faltering. My answer will always be the Speedboat Bar makrut lime mackerel.
If you’ve frequently sampled this culinary masterpiece, you’ll be able to picture the shatteringly crisp-skinned whole mackerel sunk into a pool of chu chee sauce – enriched with coconut, makrut lime, and shrimp paste. It’s guaranteed to be ravaged by hungry diners until all that’s left is a spindly fishbone and an oil-stained tablecloth.
This recipe is my take on the makrut lime mackerel, this time opting for black bream from online seafood market Rockfish instead. If you’re intimidated by fish cookery, black bream is a great gateway fish – with slightly oily flesh, a delicate flavour and skin that crisps perfectly when fried. It’s the ideal substitute for wild sea bass or stone bass if you’re also looking for a cheaper, more sustainable option. Like all fish from Rockfish, the black bream can be traced to the very boat it was caught on in Brixham and is part of a zero waste supply chain, meaning all surplus fish caught is flash-frozen and sold. Considering that around 35% of harvested seafood worldwide is chucked in the bin before ever reaching our plate, it’s food for thought.
At Speedboat Bar the mackerel is paired with chu chee sauce – a thick, coconut-rich concoction that hails from Southern Thailand often paired with fish (chu chee pla). I’ve made the paste from scratch here, adding fresh turmeric, ginger and coriander to the mix for aromatic fragrance. This makes the sauce a luminous yellow compared to its traditional deep orange and doubles as a natural Sudafed thanks to its sinus-clearing vigour. If you’re short on time, use pre-made Thai red curry paste and mix it with coconut cream, shrimp paste, and palm sugar to make the sauce.
