Jun 27, 2012
Recipe inspired by Anthony Worrall Thompson
When I first arrived in Thailand I was so overwhelmed by the choice of tasty Thai dishes, I spent several weeks treating my palette to all sorts of Thai food, that I’ve either never had before or dishes like Pad Thai, that just taste so much better in Thailand.
Unfortunately I had let my love of Thai fishcakes fall to other worthy contestants in the Thai food on sticks department. There are many snack foods, starters and culinary delights that are served on a stick in Thailand and Thai fishcakes are just one of them.
I have been attempting to learn Thai and I’m slowly making my way through; greetings, pleasantries and the menu, so I have learnt that Thai fishcakes are called ‘tod mun pla’ in Thai. If you’re as lucky as I was when I impressed a street vendor with my language skills you may get extra ‘tod mun pla’ hot from the pan!
I wanted to try a good Thai fishcake recipe so people can have a go at making Thai fishcakes in their own home kitchens, so I tried a recipe from Anthony Worrall Thompson off the BBC food page. I really liked this chef style recipe as it was extremely straightforward, authentic and unpretentious. All of the ingredients can easily be bought at a large supermarket and definitely at an Asian supermarket if you shop there regularly (no need to make a special out of the way trip).
I think it’s important to stress that if it’s your first attempt at making Thai fishcakes don’t worry too much about presentation, they will still taste delicious; place them on a bed of lettuce and serve with sweet chilli sauce and Bob’s your uncle!
Preparation time: 10 to 30 mins
plus storage time overnight or minimum of 2 hours
Cooking time: Serves 4
Thai fishcakes- Ingredients
500gfish fillets (such as whiting, pollock, coley)
½ red pepper, chopped
2 red chillies, chopped
2 tbsp coriander
3 spring onions, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 stalk of lemongrass, tender part only, chopped
1 tbsp fish sauce
125ml coconut milk
1 whole egg
125g green beans
A lot of vegetable oil
Thai fish cakes from Koh Samui
Thai fishcake- Method
Cut the fish into very small pieces. Place the red pepper, garlic, chillies, coriander, lemongrass, spring onions and fish sauce into a food processor or use a pestle and mortar to create a paste.
Add fish pieces to the paste and continue to blend well. Mix in to form a smooth paste adding coconut milk and egg.
Empty mixture into a bowl. Finely slice beans (approx 3mm) and stir into fish paste. Preferably chill in fridge overnight or for at least two hours.
Half-fill a heavy-based frying pan/wok with vegetable oil and heat on a medium to high heat. (CAUTION: Hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.) Shape the chilled mixture into small patties with the help of a table spoon. Carefully place the patties into the hot oil, in batches (the oil should reach halfway up the sides of the patties). Fry patties until crisp and brown, turning once during cooking. Remove from the oil (using a large slotted spoon) and drain on kitchen paper. Repeat the process with the remaining fish patties until all are beautifully cooked.
Once cooled, place on a bed of chopped lettuce and serve with a side dipping bowl of sweet chilli sauce. Or you can skewer them on a stick and serve like Thai lollipops.
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