Barbecued red snapper in a banana leaf package

The red snapper is a line-caught reef fish from the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean, beautiful to look at but with vicious spines and fairly impenetrable armor of scales. Perhaps best if you ask the fishmonger to scale it. Leave the fins on, however, so that it retains its lovely fish-like quality.

Make the dipping sauce by mixing together the chili, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and water in a bowl. Cover and chill until needed.

Soak the wooden skewers in cold water for 30 minutes. Make four slashes in either side of each fish and rub the skin with oil.

Place half the ginger, shallots and the garlic in a mortar. Add half the sugar, the thinly sliced lemon grass, a little of the lime juice, the salt and the chilies and pound to break up and bruise. Mix in the remaining sugar and lime juice, with the lime rind. Rub a little of the mixture into the slashes and the bulk of it into the cavity of each fish.

Trim the hard edge from each banana leaf and discard it. Soak the banana leaves in hot water for 10 minutes, then drain. Wipe any white residue from the leaves. Rinse, and then pour over boiling water to soften. Drain again. Lay a fish on each leaf and scatter the remaining ginger and shallots over them. Split the whole lemon grass stalks lengthways and lays the pieces over each fish. Bring the sides of the leaves up over the fish and secure using three wooden skewers for each envelope. Wrap in clear film (plastic wrap) to keep the wooden skewers moist, and chill for at least 30 minutes, but no more than 6 hours.

Prepare the barbecue. Bring the dipping sauce to room temperature. Remove the clear film from each banana leaf envelope and place each on a sheet of foil. Bring the sides of the foil up around each envelope to enclose it loosely. This will protect the base of each banana leaf wrapper.

Once the flames have died down, position a lightly oiled grill rack over the coals to heat. When the coals are medium-hot, or with a moderate coating of ash, lay the envelopes on the grill rack and cook for 15 minutes. Turn the envelopes around 180 degrees and cook for about 10 minutes more. Open up the foil for the last 5 minutes. Leave to stand for a further 5 minutes, then check to see if the fish is cooked by inserting a skewer - it should flake easily. Place on a large serving dish, open the envelopes and sprinkle the fish with the coriander. Serve with individual bowls and the sauce.