By popular demand my Thai fish cakes
By popular demand my Thai fish cakes. These are popular, as in thot ma pla have spread in popularity across the globe as Thailand has become a more mainstream holiday and business location. My version is not too hot but really aromatic and uses cheaper frozen cod rather than the expensive fresh stuff. I love these as they taste so much more complex than they are.
Makes around 6-8 fish cakes
Ingredients
350 – 400g frozen cod fillets (boned and skinned)
3-5 tbsp milk
1 red chilli
Bunch salad onions
1 stick of lemon grass
Zest 1 lime
1 tbsp fresh flat leaved parsley
1 tsp grated ginger
1 egg beaten
4-8 tbsp breadcrumbs
Vegetable oil to fry
Plain flour to make the cakes not sticky when shaping
Method
1. Place each frozen cod fillet with a tbsp of milk into a foil parcel. Pop them on a baking tray in a fan oven 180c for 25 minutes until cooked.
2. In a food process blend all the remaining plant based ingredients.
3. Flake the cooked fish into a bowl and mix the blended mixture with the fish, and egg. Mix through 4 tbsp at a time the breadcrumbs.
4. Take a ping – pong ball sized piece of the mixture and try to squeeze into a ball shape that can be flattened, if the cake didn’t hold then return the cake to the mixture and add a further tablespoon of breadcrumbs, repeat this until the cake holds its shape.
5. Form the remaining cakes and use flour to flour the cakes to prevent them sticking once they are formed. You may also find using flour on your hands when shaping them makes shaping them more easy too.
6. Heat oil in a large frying pan, it needs to be around a cm deep and of moderate heat so that a piece of bread bubbles upwards to the top of the oil. Pop the fish cakes in and cook until the side of the cake is golden brown for approximately 3-5 minutes, turn the cake over and repeat on the other side.
7. Serve with dipping sauce and a lime wedge to squeeze over.