Mekong Delta Lightly Braised Linh Fish with Makrut Lime

Clean the fish. Don't scale them, and don't remove the gall bladder – just soak them in salted water to get rid of the slime, and they're ready to cook.

Bring the coconut water to a boil in a pot, then add the fish, caramel sauce, MSG, sugar and pepper. Add 2 tablespoons of fish sauce.

Braise over very low heat. Once you can smell the fish's aroma, it's cooked (don't let the liquid reduce too much – linh fish is tender and cooks very quickly). Taste and adjust the seasoning, add the spring onions and take the pot off the heat.

To serve:
- Spoon the fish onto a plate.
- Squeeze over half a makrut lime and sprinkle with a little more pepper.
- Eat with rice. Popular accompaniments are water lily stems, shredded banana blossom, giant elephant ear, yellow velvetleaf, or young shoots of coral tree, passion vine or premna leaves... dipped in the braising liquid, they're delicious. The sweetness of the fish, the heat of the pepper and the fragrant sourness of the makrut lime will keep you eating without ever tiring of it. Depending on taste, you can also dip the fish in salt, pepper and lime, or chilli salt. It's best eaten while the fish is still hot.