About this recipe
Bouncy, springy fish cakes seasoned with red curry paste and slivered makrut lime leaves, deep-fried until golden and served with a sweet chili dipping sauce. The signature texture comes from working the fish paste until it turns elastic.
Recipe facts
- Yield
- 4 as an appetizer (about 16 small cakes)
- Prep
- 25 minutes
- Cook
- 15 minutes
- Total
- 40 minutes
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Spice
- Medium
Allergens Contains fish, shellfish (shrimp paste in curry paste) and egg. Gluten-free if the curry paste and cornstarch are gluten-free.
Development draft. This is an untested development recipe from the cookbook project. It has not been kitchen-tested, and the quantities and timings are the author’s working draft rather than a verified result.
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Ingredients
- 1 lb (450 g) skinless white fish fillet (e.g. cod, snapper), cold and cut in chunks
- 2–3 tbsp (30–45 g) Thai red curry paste
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) fish sauce
- 1 tsp (5 g) palm sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp (8 g) cornstarch
- 4 makrut lime leaves, very finely slivered
- 6 long beans, thinly sliced into rings
- Neutral oil, for deep-frying
Equipment
- Food processor
- Deep pot or wok for frying
- Thermometer
- Spider or slotted spoon
Method
- Process the cold fish with the curry paste, fish sauce, palm sugar, egg and cornstarch to a smooth, sticky paste.
- Beat or pulse the paste briefly until it turns springy and elastic (this gives the signature bounce).
- Fold in the slivered lime leaves and sliced long beans by hand.
- Heat oil to 340°F/170°C. Wet your hands and shape the paste into small flat patties.
- Fry in batches, without crowding, until golden and cooked through, 3–4 minutes; drain on a rack.
- Serve hot with Nam Jim Gai and a scattering of cucumber relish.
Uses from this chapter
- Nam Jim Gai (Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce) (Condiments — C01) — The classic dip, served alongside; its sweet-sour-mild heat balances the savory cakes.
From the foundations
The book pairs this recipe with the following, from the sauces, sambals and pastes that open the collection.
The Complete Edition
Thai Fish Cakes (Tod Mun Pla) sits in the Thailand chapter
The book carries this recipe in full alongside the rest of the Thailand chapter, the pastes and dips it is built on, and the twenty-seven pantry studies that open the collection.
Available from Amazon
- Kindle edition — $9.99 (Kindle Store price) — available now
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