A deep-bodied, scarlet-skinned fish landed whole, with clear eyes and red gills still showing when it is packed. The flesh is thick and flaky, breaks into large soft flakes, and carries one main bone with almost nothing fine to pick out, which makes it easy to serve to children and older guests.

Where It Comes From

Caught in cold offshore water and frozen whole within hours, so the skin keeps its colour and the belly stays firm.

Size And Grade

• Whole fish, gutted and scaled, one per bag
• Each fish runs about 800 g to 1 kg, so a 2 kg bag holds two or three
• Sold by total weight rather than a fixed count

How It Is Frozen

Raw and frozen whole, head on, so the collar meat stays moist.

Storage

Keep at -18°C or colder. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Rinse the cavity, cook within a day and never refreeze.

Shelf Life And Delivery

Best within 9 months of the packing date on the bag. Shipped frozen in an insulated box with gel ice; the fish should arrive hard and unmarked.

How To Cook It

Score the thickest part of the back, sit the fish on a plate over ginger and spring onion, and steam hard for eight to ten minutes until the flesh at the bone turns opaque. Finish with hot oil poured over a spoon of seasoned soy. It also braises well in a soy and rock-sugar sauce, or can be fried whole in a shallow pan after being patted completely dry.

Allergen

Contains fish. Packed in a facility that also handles crustaceans and molluscs.