I came across the idea of Thai fish cakes in a cookbook. They were made with some variety of fresh fish but since I am a Maritimer the idea of a fish cake without salt fish was quite foreign to me so I changed it up a bit and went for a “Maritime” version of a Thai fish cake. My apologies to the residents of Thailand.
Ingredients
- 6 potatoes
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 tbls olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups salt fish
- 1 haddock filet
- 1 tbls Thai fish sauce
- 1-2 teas red curry paste
- 1 tbls lime juice
- 1 egg
- 4 kaffir lime leaves, ribs removed and leaves finely diced
- 3 tbls cilantro, chopped
Directions
- Boil salt fish in fresh water for about 15 minutes. Drain and flake.
- Saute onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil in a dutch oven or saucepan.
- Add potatoes, fresh fish and kaffir lime leaves with just enough water to cover. Cover and bring to a boil.
- Simmer until potatoes are done. Drain potatoe/fish mixture.
- Mix together the egg, fish sauce and red curry paste and add to fish/potatoe mixture with the reserved salt fish and mash with a potato masher.
- Form into patties and pan fry until golden.
Serving Suggestions:
Serve with any vegetables of your choice. Green tomato chow is good with the fish cakes as well.
Optional:
I used the Thai Kitchen red curry paste. The kaffir lime leaves (frozen at the Asian grocery) are really nice but if impossible to find try the zest of the lime.