If you can’t find painted crayfish, the Tasmanian ones are a great substitute but you can use any crayfish or lobsters in this dish. I cooked this for the master boatbuilders of Bira in south-east Sulawesi, Indonesia. The boats, called phinisi, have been hand-built out of teak for centuries. They are an awe-inspiring thing to see. When I first saw these huge boats in the boat yard I thought to myself that this could have been where the story of Noah’s Ark came from. The Bugis sailors from these parts set sail into the wind, their holds full of cloves and nutmeg destined for Europe, where the spices were more valuable than gold.