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Thai fish cakes with a crunchy cucumber and carrot salad

Preparation time
less than 30 mins

Cooking time
10 to 30 mins

Serves
Serves 4

 

Hot, salty, sweet and sour are balanced perfectly in this classic dish.

Equipment and preparation: You will need a food processor and a julienne peeler or spiraliser.

By Donal Skehan
From Saturday Kitchen

Ingredients

For the fish cakes

  • 450g/1lb skinless white fish fillets (such as ling, haddock or cod), bones removed
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 large free-range egg
  • good handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp red curry paste
  • 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 lime, zest and juice
  • 75g/2½oz green beans, finely chopped
  • 6 spring onions, roughly chopped
  • 200g/7oz sesame seeds
  • 4 tbsp sunflower oil
  • sweet chilli dipping sauce, to serve

For the dressing

  • 1 tsp caster sugar
  • 1 lime, zest and juice
  • 3 tbsp fish sauce
  • ½ red chilli, finely chopped

For the salad

  • large handful peanuts, toasted
  • 1 carrot, peeled and sliced into spaghetti-like strands using a julienne peeler or spiraliser
  • 1 cucumber, sliced into spaghetti-like strands using a julienne peeler or spiraliser
  • 3-4 shallots, finely sliced
  • 1 red chilli, finely sliced
  • large handful beansprouts
  • good handful mint leaves

Method

  1. For the fish cakes, place the fish in a food processor and blend for 3 seconds until smooth. Add the fish sauce, egg, coriander, curry paste, chilli, garlic, ginger, lime zest and juice and blend again until everything is combined.

  2. Remove the blade from the food processor and stir through the green beans and half the spring onions. With damp hands, form the mixture into 12 balls and flatten to make fish cakes. Coat each fish cake with the sesame seeds.

  3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the fishcakes in batches for about 2 minutes on each side. Remove with a fish slice and drain on a plate lined with kitchen paper.

  4. Meanwhile, for the dressing, whisk the caster sugar, lime zest and juice and fish sauce until the caster sugar has dissolved. Whisk in the red chilli.

  5. For the salad, toast the peanuts in a dry frying pan until golden-brown, remove from the pan and bash roughly in a pestle and mortar.

  6. Put all the rest of the salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Pour over the dressing and give it a good mix to combine.

  7. Garnish the fish cakes with the remaining spring onions and serve straight away with the salad and some sweet chilli dipping sauce.

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