Haw Mok Pla — Steamed Fish in Banana Leaf / ห่อหมกปลา

Ingredients

• 600 g fish, thick steaks or on the bone — not thin fillets
• 3 tbsp red curry paste
• 60 ml coconut cream, a small amount only — to season, not sauce
• 4 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced
• 1 small handful horapha basil, leaves picked
• 4 large sections banana leaf, wilted briefly over an open flame until pliable

Method

1. 1
   Pass each banana leaf section slowly over an open flame, turning constantly, until the leaf turns a deeper, uniform green and becomes fully pliable, so the heat relaxes the fibres and the leaf bends along the fold lines without cracking or splitting. Work at a steady pace — rush it and you scorch the leaf before it softens; stall and you dry it out. It must bend without cracking at any point along the fold lines before you move on.
2. 2
   Combine the fish, red curry paste, coconut cream, kaffir lime leaves, and horapha basil, mixing until every surface of the fish is evenly coated with paste, so the aromatics penetrate the flesh rather than sitting as a shell around it. The coconut cream is a seasoning here, not a base — add it last and mix briefly so it binds the paste to the fish without diluting the flavour. The mixture should smell of curry aromatics with no raw coconut heaviness.
3. 3
   Divide the fish mixture into four equal portions and place each at the centre of a wilted banana leaf section. This is where the dish lives or dies: wrap the leaf firmly around the fish and fold the seam to face downward or secure with toothpicks, but leave a small gap rather than sealing the package completely airtight, so the steam that builds inside can escape and the package does not burst during cooking. A parcel that is too loose, however, will unravel and spill the filling.
4. 4
   Steam the packages over vigorously boiling water for 10–12 minutes — or grill over medium charcoal for the same time, turning once at the halfway point — so the fish cooks through gently in its own aromatic cloud without drying out. For the charcoal method, the outer banana leaf will char visibly and the package will release a smoky-grass aroma that tells you the heat is reaching the fish. The fish is done when it feels firm — not hard — through the leaf when pressed with a finger.
5. 5
   Open one package at the table so the rush of fragrant steam — curry paste, chlorophyll, and the tea-like note of the leaf — reaches the diners as the first impression of the dish. The fish inside must be just opaque throughout. Serve the remaining packages intact for each diner to open.