Whole plate-sized fish are easy to cook and look very impressive on the plate. Eat the flesh from one side of the fish, then carefully lift up the back bone, it should come away with the other bones attached so you can eat the other side. Superstition says it’s bad luck to turn a fish over.

Hot and sour soup is very popular in Thailand, where it’s called dtom yum (or tom yum). ‘Dtom’ means to boil and ‘yum’ to toss together, and these soups can be as basic or as complex as the cook wishes, but will always be flavoured with lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves and seasoned with chilli for heat, lime juice for sourness and fish sauce for saltiness.