Ingredients
- 250g skinless white fish fillets
- 2 heaped tbsp Thai red curry paste (making it fresh just for fishcakes seems a faff, so just buy a good ready-made one)
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp green beans, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp finely sliced makrut lime leaves – the best way to do this is to roll them up like tight cigars, and chop
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1–2 tbsp nam pla (Thai fish sauce), or to taste
- Oil, for deep-frying
Preparation
- Heat a little oil in a wok, and fry a piece of the fishcake mix to check the seasoning: different curry pastes have different balances of flavour, so add more fish sauce or sugar, if you need to.
- Slap the mixture around the bowl a bit to aerate it – this is how you achieve the puffy, springy texture of a classic Thai fishcake. (The secret of a good Thai fishcake is in the texture: it has to be spongy, almost rubbery, and far removed from the flaky, western-style things you get in pubs.) Wet your hands slightly, and form the fishcake mix into flattish patties. You choose the size – you can have them as big as a plate or bite-size. I prefer to make smaller ones, because I like to serve them with drinks.
- Heat the oil in a wok until it’s hot (if you’re using a deep-fryer, set it to 180C/350F). Fry the fishcakes in batches until puffy and brown – two to three minutes a batch – transfer to kitchen paper to drain, and serve at once.
makes 16-18 fish cakes
