Pla Neung Ma-Nao — Steamed Fish with Lime Sauce / ปลานึ่งมะนาว

Central Thai — steamed fish with lime sauce is a Central Thai classic; it appears in a simpler form across all Thai regional cuisines

Steamed fish with lime sauce is among the purest expressions of Thai cooking — a whole fish (snapper, barramundi, or tilapia) steamed over lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves, then served with a sauce of fresh lime juice, fish sauce, palm sugar, garlic, bird's eye chilli, and coriander root. The steaming technique is straightforward — the fish sits on a bed of aromatics over boiling water and steams for 8–12 minutes depending on size. The sauce is made fresh and poured over the fish at the table, not during cooking. The interaction between the hot steamed fish and the cold, sharp sauce creates the flavour experience — the sauce should not be pre-heated or cooked into the fish.

• Vietnamese cá hấp chanh is essentially identical; Cantonese steamed whole fish with ginger and soy is the Chinese-origin technique that was adapted to Thai lime-chilli sauce; Cambodian steamed fish preparations use similar aromatic-bed steaming.

Pla neung ma-nao is the dish where technique is the sauce — the contrast between the delicate steamed fish and the sharp, bright lime-garlic-chilli sauce is the entire experience. There is nothing superfluous.