MasterChef Star Harry Butterfield’s Coral Trout Larb Ceviche Recipe
Seafood king
By Teagan Witherow | 4th March 2025Brisbane’s Harry Butterfield, MasterChef Australia’s seafood guru, puts a bold spin on ceviche. His Coral Trout Larb Ceviche blends zesty Thai flavours with the fish’s natural sweetness, finished with crispy nori rice crisps. Bright, vibrant, and made to share.
FOR THE FISH & CURING MIXTURE
500g coral trout (or kingfish), diced into 1cm cubes
250ml rice vinegar
Juice of 3 limes
150ml cold water
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
1 brown onion, thinly sliced
FOR THE LARB DRESSING
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
1 1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 bird’s eye chilli, finely chopped (adjust to taste)
1 garlic clove, minced 2 tbsp water
4 tsp toasted glutinous rice (ground into powder)
FOR THE HERB MIXTURE METHOD
1/3 cup coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1/3 cup mint leaves, roughly chopped
1/3 cup dill, roughly chopped
1/3 cup Thai basil, roughly chopped
3 large makrut lime leaves, deveined, rolled into a cigar, and thinly sliced (reserve some threads for garnish)
FOR THE NORI RICE CRISPS
6 nori sheets
6 sheets of rice paper
Neutral oil for frying
FOR THE GARNISH
Radish, thinly sliced
Green beans
Finely chopped Ikura (salmon pearls) (optional)
Wedges of lime
Olive oil
METHOD
1. Cure the fish: in a bowl, mix together the rice vinegar, lime juice, cold water, sugar, and salt. Add the sliced brown onion and the cubed fish, stirring gently to coat. Top with a paper towel and refrigerate for 30 minutes. The fish will turn opaque as the acid ‘cooks’ it.
2. Prepare the larb dressing: in another bowl, combine the fish sauce, lime juice, rice wine vinegar, caster sugar, chilli, garlic, water, and toasted glutinous rice powder. Stir well to dissolve the sugar. Taste and adjust: add lime juice or vinegar for more tang, fish sauce for saltiness, or water to tone it down.
3. Fry the nori rice crisps: lightly brush one side of a rice paper sheet with water and press it onto a nori sheet. Repeat with the remaining sheets until you have 6 nori-rice paper combinations. Heat a pan with about 1cm of neutral oil over medium-high heat. Fry the nori side down first for 5-10 seconds until it shrinks to the size of the rice paper but doesn’t colour. Flip and fry the rice paper side for 10-15 seconds until it puffs up and turns ultra-crispy. Drain on paper towels and break into desired scoop-sized pieces once cooled.
4. Combine fish and dressing: drain the cured fish, reserving about 2 tbsp of the curing liquid. Toss the fish gently with half of the larb dressing to coat evenly.
5. Add the herbs: add the herb mixture and chopped green beans to the dressed fish. Drizzle with olive oil and toss gently to combine.
6. Plate and garnish: heap the ceviche onto a large serving dish. Pour over the remaining larb dressing and drizzle with olive oil. Garnish with thinly sliced radish, lime wedges, and the reserved makrut lime leaf threads. Serve alongside the crispy nori rice crisps for scooping.
