Steamed Fish with Coconut

Savoury Thai seasonings and coconut milk make this ordinary dish into something memorable. The coconut is the seed of the marvellously versatile and useful coconut palm. Coconut meat and milk, both drawn from the seed, are staples in Thai cuisine; in fact, they are among the most important ingredients in that tradition.

The Chinese would use a black bean sauce, and Western cooks might prefer a butter or white wine sauce. The Thais use coconut milk, in combination with some of their