A whole fish steamed over boiling water until just cooked, then dressed tableside with a fiercely sharp, aromatic sauce of lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, and fresh chillies — with lemongrass and coriander root in the steaming liquid. The fish is served in a metal steaming dish in its own steaming juices, the lime-chilli sauce poured over the surface in the final moment, producing a cloud of aromatic steam as the cold citrus hits the hot fish. Pla neung manao is the most direct expression of the Thai treatment of fresh fish: nothing is added that is not needed; the fish's own flavour is the preparation.
**The fish:** Whole, gutted, scaled — snapper, barramundi, sea bass, or any firm white-fleshed fish. 500–600g for one serving; 800g–1kg for two sharing. Score the flesh 3–4 times on each side with deep cuts to the bone — this allows the steaming heat to penetrate more quickly and evenly and allows the lime-chilli sauce to penetrate the scored flesh when poured at service. **The steaming liquid:** - Water with lemongrass (bruised, cut into pieces), galangal (sliced), and a little fish sauce. - This liquid perfumes the steam that enters the fish through the scored cuts during cooking. **The sauce:** - Lime juice: the primary element — a large quantity, 3–4 limes per 600g fish. - Fish sauce: for salt. - Palm sugar: a small amount. - Garlic: very finely minced. - Fresh bird's eye chillies: finely sliced. - Coriander: leaves and fine stems. The sauce should be assembled in the correct balance before the fish is done — poured immediately on the moment of service. **The steaming:** 1. Place the scored fish in the steaming dish with a few slices of lemongrass in the cavity. 2. Steam over vigorous boiling water for 10–12 minutes for a 500g fish; 15 minutes for 800g. 3. The fish is done when a skewer inserted at the thickest point (behind the head) meets no resistance. 4. Remove from the steamer. Pour off the steaming liquid from the dish. 5. Immediately: pour the lime-chilli sauce over the entire fish. The sauce hits the hot fish surface and releases an aromatic steam cloud. Decisive moment: The doneness of the fish — assessed at the scored cuts and at the thickest point behind the head. Steamed whole fish at the correct doneness: the flesh at the cut pulls away from the bone with no resistance. The internal temperature at the spine should be 62–65°C. Over-steamed: the flesh dries and flakes away from the bone on its own; the texture becomes tough. Sensory tests: **The skewer test:** Insert a thin metal skewer into the thickest point of the fish and hold for 3 seconds. Withdraw and immediately touch the tip to the back of the hand. Correct temperature (62–65°C): the skewer is noticeably warm but not burning. Too cool: barely warm. Over-cooked: hot. **Sight — the sauce poured at service:** The hot fish surface, hit by the room-temperature lime juice: an immediate aromatic steam. The sauce should sizzle slightly as it hits the hot surface, the lime's volatile aromatic compounds vaporising instantly and filling the space above the dish with the combined aromatic of lime, garlic, and chilli.
David Thompson, *Thai Food* (2002); *Thai Street Food* (2010)