Thai-Style Bluefish Salad

Name: Thai-Style Bluefish Salad
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 6 medium scallions, roots trimmed; 6 (6-inch) cilantro sprigs; 1.5 pounds skinless bluefish fillets (3/4 inch thick); 0.5 teaspoon kosher salt; 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice; 3 tablespoons uncooked white jasmine rice; 6 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 3 limes); 2 tablespoons fish sauce; 2 medium-size fresh red Thai chiles, stemmed and minced (2 1/2 teaspoons); 1.5 teaspoons cane sugar; 1 small red onion (about 5 ounces), halved and thinly sliced lengthwise (about 1 1/4 cups); 0.5 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped; 0.5 cup packed fresh mint leaves, chopped; 3 medium scallions, thinly sliced (about 1/3 cup); 0.5 teaspoon kosher salt; Cooked white jasmine rice, for serving; Lettuce leaves, for serving; Lime wedges, for serving

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Laap pla duk, a Thai catfish salad, is the inspiration for this flavor-packed dish of flaked bluefish fillets tossed with fish sauce, lime juice, spicy red Thai chiles, and fresh mint and cilantro. Toasted and powdered jasmine rice adds aroma and helps unify the dish, absorbing flavors from the other ingredients. Serve the salad with lettuce leaves, lime wedges, and cooked rice so each diner can assemble their own lettuce wraps. Rich, oily bluefish are abundant in the waters off Cape Cod. If you can't find bluefish, another fatty fish like mackerel is a good substitute.

By

Justin Chapple

Published on May 2, 2022

Thai-Style Bluefish Salad — Photo: Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis

Active Time:

30 mins

Total Time:

1 hrs

Servings:

4

Ingredients

Fish

6 medium scallions, roots trimmed
6 (6-inch) cilantro sprigs
1 ½ pounds skinless bluefish fillets (3/4 inch thick)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Salad

3 tablespoons uncooked white jasmine rice
6 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 3 limes)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 medium-size fresh red Thai chiles, stemmed and minced (2 1/2 teaspoons)
1 ½ teaspoons cane sugar
1 small red onion (about 5 ounces), halved and thinly sliced lengthwise (about 1 1/4 cups)
½ cup packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
½ cup packed fresh mint leaves, chopped
3 medium scallions, thinly sliced (about 1/3 cup)
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Additional Ingredients

Cooked white jasmine rice, for serving
Lettuce leaves, for serving
Lime wedges, for serving

Directions

Make the fish:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange 3 scallions and 3 cilantro sprigs in a large ceramic baking dish. Arrange fish fillets on top; sprinkle evenly with salt. Place remaining 3 scallions and remaining 3 cilantro sprigs on fish; drizzle with lime juice. Roast in preheated oven until fish flakes easily with a fork, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven; let cool completely, about 15 minutes. Flake fish into small pieces. Discard scallions, cilantro sprigs, and drippings in baking dish.

Make the salad:

Toast rice in a small skillet over medium, stirring often, until light golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a spice grinder; let cool about 5 minutes. Grind into a powder. (Alternatively, grind using a mortar and pestle.)
Whisk together lime juice, fish sauce, chiles, and sugar in a large bowl. Add fish, onion, cilantro, mint, scallions, salt, and ground toasted rice; stir well. Serve with cooked rice, lettuce leaves, and lime wedges.