Freshwater Perch with Pickled Plums

Name: Freshwater Perch with Pickled Plums (Pla Neung Buai)
Cuisine: Thailand
Ingredients: 5 dried shiitake mushrooms; 250 mL (1 cup/8 fl oz) water; 15 mL (1 tablespoon) oyster sauce; 1 teaspoon palm sugar; 1 freshwater perch or redfin, about 250 g (8 oz); 1 freshwater perch or redfin, about 250 g (8 oz); 1 teaspoon salt; 100 g (4 oz) ginger, julienned; 50 g (2 oz) Asian celery, cut into 2 cm (¾ in) lengths; 2 cloves garlic, finely sliced lengthways; 4 pickled plums, pitted and sliced; 30 mL (2 tablespoons) brine from pickled plums; 30 mL (2 tablespoons) brine from pickled plums; 30 mL (2 tablespoons) chicken stock; 15 mL (1 tablespoon) fish sauce; 1 tablespoon coriander (cilantro) leaves; 10 white peppercorns, ground

Pla Neung Buai

Preparation info

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Classic Thai Cuisine

By David Thompson

Published 1993

About

AROUND CHIANG MAI where I first had this dish, there are many Baan Suan — restaurants set in gardens. They are well regarded by the Thais, who often consider a restaurant’s atmosphere is just as important as its food. Up country, atmosphere means live entertainment and live entertainment means a motley collection of hacks accompanying a rambunctiously second-rate chanteuse. I loved it, and the food was just as good as its atmosphere.

Ingredients

Asia
Thailand
Main course
South East Asia

Ingredients

Method