Mud fish smoked with cassia bark and star anise

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  25 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 500 g rock salt
• 4 star anise
• 2 cassia bark quills
• 800 g whole mud fish, cleaned but not scaled

Lemon dipping sauce

• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp ground white pepper

Instructions

Pour the rock salt into a large clay pot. Arrange the star anise and cassia over the salt, and then sit the fish on top.

Cover the pot and place over a medium–low heat. Cook for 20–25 minutes, or until the flesh flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Meanwhile, combine the lemon dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix until combined.

Remove the fish from the pot and place on a serving platter. To serve, peel off the scales and skin and dip the flesh into the dipping sauce.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.