This recipe is a) quite messy to prepare and b) totally delicious, so it's worth getting stuck in for a feast, or doubling the quantities for something special. You can use any fish or prawns, or just use tofu, which is so delicious with all of these flavours. Some of the same ingredients come up in all 3 stages of the recipe, so it's worth prepping everything at the same time. The dipping sauce will last for few days in the fridge, and the leftovers make a nice lunch xx
Makes 15 fish cakes,
Ingredients:
For the dipping sauce:
1 handful of chopped coriander, roots 'n' all
1 small red or green chilli, finely chopped
Juice of 1 + 1/2 limes
1 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp miso paste
2 - 3 tbsps rice wine vinegar
For the fishcakes:
400g of fish / seafood - skinned, boned and chopped
50g tofu, crumbled,. optional
1 v large handful of chopped fresh coriander, preferably with stalks
1- 2 tbsp red Thai curry paste
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp sesame oil
1 red or green chilli, finely chopped
1 stock of lemon grass, banished & finely sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh ginger, chopped
2 spring onions, finely sliced
100g green beans, finely sliced
For the rice:
1 handful of rice per person
3 - 4 handfuls of green chopped veg - kale, green beans, spinach etc
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp fresh ginger, chopped
Method:
For the dressing:
Assemble all the ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously. Then leave to sit to infuse for a while.
For the fishcakes
The traditional method for Thai fishcakes is to mince the mixture finely before cooking. I am not sure I like this - preferring a a chunkier mix - but it's entirely up to you. You could blitz half or all of it - I just prefer mixing all the ingredients by hand and working all the ingredients in gently. In any event, simply combine all the fish cake ingredients and mix well. Shape into 15 or so golfball sized pieces and flatten slightly. Leave to settle whilst you prep cook the rice and chop the veg.
When you are ready, gently heat some oil in a wide frying pan or wok. When the oil is fifty hot, lower the fishcakes in to the oil and fry for about 3 minutes on each side. Drain on to kitchen paper.
For the rice
Simply cook the rice as you normally would - one handful of dry rice per person - rinsed and boiled in a few inches of water for about 10 minutes. Then heat off and leave to steam with a lid on.
Whilst its cooking, chop cup all the veg you are using then wipe put the pan you used for the fish cakes with kitchen roll. Heat some fresh oil and then stir fry the veg bit by bit, adding in the garlic as you go. Add the cooled rice bit by bit and stir fry. Add a dash of soy sauce.
Consume all with the dipping sauce and enjoy xx