Lyndey Milan's tea-smoked trout in a Thai-style salad

Method

1. Mix the marinade in a flat dish which will comfortably fit the fish. Wipe skin side of fish with kitchen paper and slash in three places. Roll in marinade then leave skin side up, cover and place in fridge for 4 hours. Drain trout or salmon from marinade and wipe well with kitchen towel.
2. Line a wok or stir-fry pan with two thicknesses of foil. Place smoking mixture on top, mix well, cover and place over high heat. When it starts to smoke, place a greased rack with trout or salmon, skin side down on top. Ensure there is room for air to circulate. Cover and reduce heat to low. Smoke for about seven minutes for pink inside or until cooked as desired. Turn off heat, remove lid (either outside or ensuring exhaust fan is on), trout and rack. Using tongs, fold up foil to encase smoking mixture. Put aside to cool before discarding.
3. Lay 4 or 5 cos lettuce leaves on each of four serving plates. Gently flake the trout evenly over the leaves. Top with finely sliced cucumber, mint and basil leaves. Whisk or shake dressing ingredients together to dissolve sugar. Spoon half a teaspoon over each leaf. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon fried shallots over each leaf and serve immediately.