Sean Turnell's grilled salmon and steamed vegetables

During my time in imprisonment in Myanmar, certain foods kept me alive psychologically as well as physically. When all goes right this dish is perfect at bringing us all together.

Sean Turnell's last meal? Grilled salmon.

This dish, which stretches my culinary abilities to the max and then some (every so often it goes disastrously wrong), I prepare for the undisputed love of my life, my wife Ha Vu.

Ha is an exceptional cook herself and, by taste preference rather than anything else, eats all the good things. She’s especially fond of fish and steamed veggies though, hence this dish ticks all the boxes for her.

The ingredients are all super-fresh. We live within walking distance of Sydney’s famed fish market in Pyrmont, so we buy the fish usually on our early morning walk. The sesame sauce is from Japan and we get it from one of the many Asian-themed supermarkets in the city. Ha could eat the steamed vegetables on their own, but this sauce has been a revelation and turns the veggies into something you want to eat, not just feel you should.

During my time in imprisonment in Myanmar, Ha baked all sorts of items for me, which were then carried to me via the diplomatic pouch from Canberra. These kept me alive psychologically as well as physically. They gave me something to look forward to, reminded me of home, symbolised all that was good in life. A lot of meaning in cookies and cakes, you may think, but I’ve come to understand that value in life is composed of simple pleasures, frequently experienced and centred in love.

But all of this means when it comes to my own cooking the pressure is really on. And I’m not a good cook. I have no intuitive feel for cooking at all, and I tend to stick to Ha’s advice on cooking times and portion sizes. Of course, this also means that if something goes wrong I’m all at sea, and crises can be overwhelming. Most of the dramas come when air-frying the fish. Get the time wrong, and you end up with something that’s oily and gluggy or dry and desiccated. Sometimes the salmon sticks to the foil, leading to what our daughter Phuong describes as a “Sean moment”.

Yet when all goes right this dish is perfect at bringing us all together. We usually just sit at the kitchen bench to eat it, and talk about our respective day. We often have the evening news playing out in the background. We try not to look at our mobile phones, but if anyone will sneakily break this reasonable timeout it will usually be me.

It’s the best time of my day, and the best little thing I can do to say thank you to the love of my life, who also happened to save my life.

Grilled salmon with steamed vegetables

Fresh salmon fillets with skin on.

Marinated for 4-5 hours in regular and extra dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, fresh crushed garlic and black pepper.

Cooked in air-fryer on aluminium foil, skin side down for 8 minutes, same again skin side up.

Steamed vegetables – broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and green beans, a deep-roasted sesame sauce, which you can buy from any Asian foodstore. Ours is from Japan.

Sean Turnell spent 650 days in a Myanmar prison on trumped-up charges. His book is about that experience. It’s also a love letter to his wife, Ha Vu, who got booze-soaked fruit cake to him via the diplomatic pouches from DFAT. Just the wife you want in a crisis.