Thai Fish Cakes with Coconut Curried Vegetables

There are quite a few advantageous of Fish Cakes. Firstly, they look like meatballs so you could trick your child who doesn't like fish to - at least - trying it (hopefully also liking it). Secondly – to make them you don’t need perfect fillets that you normally use for frying or roasting since you will have to chop the fish anyway. And thirdly – you have different options how to serve them: with a simple salad or – just like in my recipe – with broccoli and cauliflower in a curried coconut milk sauce, served with rice.

If you use my proportions of spices, you will end up with a not-too-hot dish but if you prefer it to be spicier or milder you can easily adjust the amounts. To make sure the whole batch of Fish Cakes is just the way you would like it to be, take a small portion of ready to fry fish mixture and fry a miniature test cake to check the seasoning. If it is not hot enough, add more spices. Since you can’t really make it less spicy at this stage, be careful not to add too much seasoning right at the beginning ;-)

INGREDIENTS (for 4 people):

Fish cakes:

400g fillet of white fish, skinless and boneless,

0.5 lime (juice and grated rind),

2 tbsp thinly chopped coriander,

1.5 tsp Thai red curry paste,

2 tsp grated ginger,

1 egg white,

0.25 tsp salt.

1-2 tbsp rapeseed oil for frying.

Vegetables:

1 tbsp rapeseed oil,

1 tsp grated ginger,

2 garlic cloves, grated,

1.5 tsp Thai red curry paste,

0.5 cauliflower (350g), cut into small florets,

0.5 broccoli (200g), cut into small florets,

1 can (400ml) coconut milk,

1.5 tsp Demerara sugar,

1.5 tbsp fish sauce,

juice from 0.5 lime.

METHOD:

1. Put to the food processor all the ingredients for the fish cakes (except for the rapeseed oil) and process them till everything is combined. You have to make sure there are no bones in the fish!
2. Form 8 round cakes from the fish mixture; put them on a plate and leave in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
3. Heat the rapeseed oil in a big frying pan; put in the fish cakes and fry them on a medium heat for approx. 3 minutes on each side.
4. In another pan heat the rapeseed oil for the vegetables; add the ginger, garlic and chilli paste and fry till they release their aroma.
5. Add the vegetables, fry for 2 minutes stirring to coat them in spices.
6. Add the coconut milk, bring to boil and cook for 5 minutes, if you would like to have crunchy vegetables or a bit longer - for a softer version.
7. Serve with jasmine rice.