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1
Build the rice pilaf first so it is ready to hold. Sweat the aromatics in a dry pan, add rinsed rice and coat the grains, then add stock or water at a 1:2 ratio. Cover and cook over low heat until the liquid is fully absorbed and the surface shows small steam holes — the sign the pilaf is done.
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2
Make the mango chutney. Combine diced mango, rice vinegar, and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mango softens and the liquid reduces to a loose, jammy consistency. Set aside at room temperature.
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3
Build the coconut-curry sauce. In a wide sauté pan, soften shallot and garlic over medium heat without colour, then bloom the curry powder in the dry pan for thirty seconds. Add coconut milk, stir to incorporate, and reduce to a light, sauce-weight consistency. The aroma shifts from raw spice to a rounded, fragrant heat — the sauce is ready.
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4
This is where the dish lives or dies. Season the monchong steaks with salt only — add no fat to the pan and no fat to the fish. Monchong's exceptional fat content means it bastes itself. Place steaks in a hot, dry pan and sear undisturbed until a deep golden crust releases cleanly from the surface; the restraint here is the technique. Turn once.
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5
Transfer the seared steaks directly into the coconut-curry sauce and finish over gentle heat, basting the fish with the sauce as it reduces around the steaks. The fish is done when it yields with slight resistance under finger pressure — firm but not rigid — and the sauce has tightened to coat the steaks in a golden veil.
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6
Plate the rice pilaf as a base, set the monchong steak over it, spoon the coconut-curry sauce around, and finish with mango chutney alongside. The plate reads golden curry, white steak, and bright mango — a confirmation of correct execution.