Mashuai

Ingredients

Fish

• 1whole kingfish
• about 2 kg, scaled and gutted
• or thick kingfish steaks
• narrow-barred Spanish mackerel

The marinade

• 4 tablespoonslemon juice
• 6garlic cloves, crushed
• 3cm ginger, grated
• 2 teaspoonsground turmeric
• 2 teaspoonsground cumin
• 2 teaspoonsground coriander
• 1 teaspoonchilli powder
• 3 tablespoonsoil
• 2 teaspoonssalt

Lemon rice

• 500 gbasmati rice
• rinsed and soaked
• juice of 3 lemons
• 2 teaspoonsground turmeric
• 1onion, sliced
• 4 tablespoonsghee
• 6cardamom pods
• 1cinnamon stick
• 4cloves
• 900 mlwater
• salt

To serve

• lemon wedges
• a chopped salad
• chilli sauce

Directions

1. Keep the fish cold from purchase to cooking. Do not leave it out at room temperature. Marinate it in the refrigerator rather than out. It is firm, meaty and holds together well.
2. Scale the fish thoroughly with a knife. Work from the tail towards the head. Rinse all the loose scales away. Cut deep diagonal slashes into both sides. Space them about four centimetres apart. Cut right down towards the bone. They also help the thick body cook evenly.
3. Cut them deeper than feels necessary. Making the marinade is straightforward enough. Put the lemon juice in a bowl. Add the crushed garlic and grated ginger. Add all of the ground spices to it. Add the oil and plenty of salt. Stir it into a thick loose paste. Applying it takes a little care. Rub the paste all over the fish. Rub some inside the belly cavity as well. Do not neglect it at any point.
4. Cover the fish and refrigerate it. Give it about two hours to marinate. Rinse the basmati until the water runs clear. Soak it in cold water for thirty minutes. It is worth the extra half hour. Heat the ghee in a heavy deep pot. Add the cardamom, cinnamon and cloves.
5. Fry them for about a full minute. Add the sliced onion to the pot. Cook it for a good eight minutes. Let it soften and turn golden brown. Adding the rice is the next step to take.
6. Drain the soaked rice thoroughly. Add it to the pot with the spices. Turn it gently through the ghee. That helps them stay distinct as they cook. Turn it gently so the grains do not break. Adding the liquid is straightforward enough. Pour in all of the measured water. Add the turmeric and plenty of salt.
7. Add most of the lemon juice now. Cooking the rice takes about fifteen minutes. Bring the pot up to a full boil. Let it cook for about twelve minutes. Take it off the heat with the lid on. Let it stand for ten full minutes. The grains firm up as they settle. Leave it alone completely for those ten minutes. Heat the oven to two hundred degrees.
8. Lay the fish on a lined baking tray. Roasting it takes about forty minutes. Baste it with the pan juices twice. Basting keeps the surface from drying out. Set the caged fish over medium coals. Give it about fifteen minutes a side. Keep the fish a good distance above them. Judging when it is done takes a check.
9. Check there rather than at the belly. Any translucence means it needs longer. Take it out as soon as it flakes. Squeeze the remaining lemon over it. Serving it is done as one large dish.
10. Spread the lemon rice on a large platter. Lay the whole fish on top of the rice. Pour any pan juices over both. Add lemon wedges around the edge. Serve a chopped salad alongside. Put chilli sauce out on the table. It keeps two days refrigerated. Cool leftovers quickly and chill them at once.

Technique

• Kingfish is in the mackerel family, which is prone to scombroid poisoning: the fish is naturally high in histidine, which bacteria convert to histamine if it warms, and that causes flushing, headache, rash and cramps. Cooking does not destroy histamine and neither does freezing, so the only protection is proper chilling from purchase onwards. It should smell clean and of the sea, never sharp or peppery, and a metallic or peppery taste means stop eating immediately.
• Cut deep diagonal slashes into both sides, right down towards the bone and about four centimetres apart: they let the marinade into the flesh and help a thick body cook evenly, and without them the outside overcooks first.
• Do not marinate it longer than about two hours, since lemon juice starts to cook the flesh and long acid contact turns fish mushy; and take it out as soon as it flakes, since kingfish is firm and goes dry and chalky if overcooked.

Substitutions

• Thick kingfish steaks work where a whole fish is impractical.
• A hinged fish cage holds a whole fish together on a barbecue and lets you turn it in one movement.

Variations

• Large predatory fish accumulate mercury, and advice in several countries limits kingfish in pregnancy and for young children; that concerns frequency rather than a single meal.
• Some of the lemon goes into the rice as it cooks and the rest over it at the end, since cooked and fresh lemon taste different.
• The whole fish is laid on the rice and everyone eats from the same platter.

History

Whole kingfish spit-roasted and served on lemon rice, a coastal celebration dish.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mashuai?

Mashuai is a main from Oman: spit-roasted kingfish served with lemon rice. Whole kingfish spit-roasted and served on lemon rice, a coastal celebration dish.

How long does Mashuai take to make?

Mashuai takes 30 minutes plus marinating of preparation and 1 hour of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Mashuai?

Yes, within limits. Thick kingfish steaks work where a whole fish is impractical. A hinged fish cage holds a whole fish together on a barbecue and lets you turn it in one movement.

What is the most important thing to get right in Mashuai?

Keep the fish cold from purchase to cooking. Do not leave it out at room temperature. Marinate it in the refrigerator rather than out. It is firm, meaty and holds together well.