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Friday, March 2, 2012

Thai Fish Cakes...a plenty


These little fish cakes are the perfect spice delight. You will find them usually in the entree section of Thai restaurant menus and they are usually quite pricey for just a couple of cakes. Indeed, they are very delicious and I still cannot resist ordering them each time, only to be left with disappointment when I have finished the last bite. Thai fish cakes are surprisingly easy to conjure up, and making them is not labour intensive. All it takes is a few easily obtainable ingredients and you will be seated in front of a very generous amount of these devilishly good little fishy bites, all for yourself...unless you want to share!
I use the cheap white fillets that are usually tasteless unless you boost with flavour, which is what this dish exactly does.  Traditional Thai fish cakes use thinly sliced green beans but I find zuchinni works well too - the idea is to provide moisture into the cakes.  When frying these cakes will puff up a fair bit so do not overcrowd the frypan.  They do deflate on standing, to spongy little discs full of zing!
Ingredients, makes about 20 cakes
300g x White fish fillets (approx 2)
1 tbsp x Thai Red Curry Paste
1 tsp x Fish Sauce
1 x Egg, beaten
2 tbsp x Cornflour
1 x Red Chilli, finely chopped
4 x Kaffir Lime leaves, vein removed
1 x Zuchinni, skin on and coarsely grated
Oil for shallow frying
Directions
Place oil in a deep frypan on low heat
Add the fish fillets, curry paste, fish sauce, egg, cornflour, chilli and lime leaves into a food procesor bowl
Pulse the food processor a few times to break up the fish
Let it run for a few seconds until the ingredients combine to a thick paste
Dust in the grated zuchinni and fold through to distribute evenly
Turn out mixture into a clean bowl

Turn the heat to medium and bring the oil temperature of the oil up
Using a tablespoon as a guide form the mixture into even balls
Wet the palms of your hand and place a spoonful in the centre

Form the mixture into rough round balls
Test the oil for the right frying temperature by placing a piece of zuchinni in, it should bubble and quickly rise and float.
Carefully place the balls into the frypan in batches, flatten them slightly with a spatula
Turn every 30 seconds for about 4 minutes, the surface will become a reddish brown
Remove from the oil with care and drain on absorbent paper

Serve with a sweet chilli dipping sauce of your choice

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