This has to be one of my favorite appetizers to get at a Thai restaurant. It’s a pain to make at home cause hand mixing the fish paste is a major pain but I think it comes out tasting better than mixing it with a Kitchen-Aid Mixer.
Thai Fish Cakes
Source: Lo Huynh (4 servings)
Ingredients:
Fish Cakes:
11 ounces prepared fish paste
1 large egg whites
1 teaspoon red curry paste
½ cup Chinese long beans, thinly sliced crosswise
2 each fresh kaffir lime leaves, chiffonade
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Cucumber Relish Sauce:
2 each Persian cucumber, peeled and cut into crescents
1 each shallot, thinly sliced
½ cup Thai sweet chili sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, rough choppd
2 tablespoons roasted peanuts, chopped
Directions:
Fish Cakes:
1. In a mixing bowl, add the fish paste, egg white, and red curry paste and stir with a wooden spoon for about 30 minutes, or until the mixture is thoroughly blended.
2. Add the kaffir lime leaves and Chinese green beans.
3. Let the fish paste mixture rest for 30 minutes before frying.
4. Over medium high heat, heat a saute pan with the vegetable oil. Form the fish paste into 1/4 inch-thick rounds about 4 inches in diameter using your hand and slide the fish paste patties into the hot oil. It helps to form these patties when your hands are wet so the fish paste doesn’t stick to your hands.
5. Once one side of the fish patty is golden {this should take about a minute or two}, flip the patty and cook the other side. The fish cakes are fully cooked when you can feel a bouncy resistance from them.
6. Transfer the fish cake patties to a paper towel-lined plate.
7. Serve the fish cake patties with the cucumber relish sauce.
Cucumber Relish Sauce:
1. In a bowl, mix the Thai sweet chili sauce, shallots, fish sauce, and cilantro together.
2. Add the cucumbers.
3. Garnish with the roasted peanuts.