Smoked Haddock, Buckwheat Noodles & Chard with Coconut

While smoked fish is commonly associated with Scandinavian cooking, it adapts amazingly to eastern flavours. It’s strong salty flavour makes it stand up against the gentle spicing of a kedgeree, say, and the Thai pla grop (fish smoked over coconut husks) is delicious in Asian broths and stir fries.

This recipe is a take on a ramen-style dish and a collation of things in my fridge. I’m mad about coconut at the moment, and poaching the fish (and cooking the noodles) in coconut milk makes it a very simple dish. With a dash of fish sauce, soy and rice wine vinegar, the poaching liquid becomes a deliciously intense broth.

I added garlicky swiss chard for freshness and the toasted coconut flakes are wonderfully crunchy against the soft flakes of fish.

Serves 2

• In a saucepan bring 1x 400g can coconut milk and 400g water (or 2 sachets coconut cream with 800ml water) to a simmer. Poach 2 Smoked Haddock fillets in the liquid until opaque and cooked through (6-8 minutes). Remove from the liquid and keep warm.
• To the liquid, add 1 tbsp Fish Sauce, 1 tbsp Soy Sauce and 1 tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar. Taste and simmer for a few minutes or until the flavour has intensified.
• In the broth cook 200g Buckwheat Noodles until soft. Drain, reserving the broth. To this add 2 tbsp chopped Coriander and a squeeze of Lime. Keep warm.
• In a frying pan toast 50g Flaked Coconut.
• Remove the Coconut and, in the same pan, sauté 1 Garlic Clove, chopped, for a minute. Throw in 2 handfuls of roughly chopped Swiss Chard and stir fry for 5 minutes until wilted.
• To serve, flake the Haddock and add to a plate along with the Chard and Noodles. Ladle over the hot broth and top with the Coconut Flakes and more Coriander if liked.

n.b. for a spicy version I would add some chopped Chilli and Ginger to the broth.