Fresh Whole Silver Pomfret Fish

A whole flat-bodied fish with a small mouth and a deeply forked tail. The skin is a clean silver with a faint blue-gold wash through the fins, and the eye stays bright and clear. Cut into it and the flesh is white, fine-grained and comes away in soft flakes rather than chunks. They arrive three to a plate, laid out with ginger and scallion, and are shown both raw and pan-fried to a light gold.

Pomfret is one of the easiest whole fish to eat: the bones sit in a simple central frame instead of running through the meat, so there is very little to pick out. Steam it whole with ginger and scallion and finish with hot oil, pan-fry it until the skin crisps and blisters, or poach it gently in a light broth. Because the body is flat and even, it cooks through quickly and evenly.

• Whole flat fish, silver skin with gold in the fins
• White fine-grained flesh, few bones
• Even thickness, cooks quickly
• Steam whole, pan-fry or poach

Keep frozen at -18C or below. Thaw in the refrigerator and cook thoroughly before eating.