Chile-Oil Fish

In Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State, there’s a family-run restaurant off the main street that features home-style cooking. The butterfish I ate there was delectable, bathed in a hot sauce and served with a small side condiment of green chiles—they were pounded with salt and a little shrimp paste, to give a fresh chile hit on top of the chile oil’s heat.

Since butterfish is now listed as endangered, I make this dish and its Rangoon variation with black cod (rich and delicious) or