Raw fish is one of those dishes that works well with most of the popular fish we catch around our shores, like snapper, blue cod, kingfish, kahawai, trevally, tarakihi, john dory, hapuku and others.

Don’t be scared! If you’re not already familiar with raw fish expand your palate and give it a try. Think sushi, without the rice.

This method and recipe are a favourite of the head of the North Shore International Academy hospitality school Tim Aspinall . The secret is in the white vinegar…

Step 1: Dry the fish

Pat the fish fillets with paper towels to remove excess moisture.

Step 2: Slice the fish

Start by slicing the fish fillet into pieces. Cut on a 45° angle, against the ‘grain’ of the meat. The aim is to get the thickness nice and even.

Lay one of these fish slices on your board and cut it into long thin pieces, this time in the same direction as the ‘grain’ of the flesh. Each piece is long like a matchstick. Pop the fish in a medium-sized bowl. You could also cut the pieces into cubes if you prefer.

Step 3: Prepare the other ingredients

Dice the capsicum into small pieces and slice the spring onions.

Step 4: Putting it all together

Put two- thirds of the spring onion and capsicum into the bowl.

Squeeze two of your lemons into the bowl – catching the pips with the sieve.

Mix the ingredients together to get the lemon juice starting to marinade the fish.

Add a third of your white vinegar and a couple of spoons of coconut cream and mix together. It doesn’t take long for the colour of the fish to change as the juices start cooking the fish.

Add salt and pepper seasoning to taste.

Have a quick bite and add more of the individual ingredients if you need to. Give it a good stir.

Step 5: Chill and serve.

Cover the bowl and put in the fridge for 1-3 hours. The longer you leave it the more intense the flavours. If you can wait, leaving it overnight results in some pretty wicked flavour.

The secret ingredient of white vinegar really brings intensity to the flavour to the thin slices of fish.

Enjoy 😉