There is no such thing as too much Thai food.
Never, you hear me?
Exhibit A: These Thai fishcakes.
A few days ago I looked into my freezer and saw the many servings of Thai curry pastes I had and was thinking “what else could I do with these” and then, today…
Bam! I have beautiful barramundi fillets smashed together with mashed potatoes, shallots, green Thai curry paste (or my quick and easy version of it anyway) and coconut cream!
And then, because that isn’t setting your tastebuds on “feed me now” overdrive enough, I also going to spoon tartare sauce over them. But, wait, not just any old tartare sauce (like, please). No, no, no,no no…
This is tartare sauce that has be laced with sriracha (or any other type of chilli sauce combo you wish), a generous squirt of lime and overloaded with garlic (because there’s not enough garlic in the green curry paste and fishcakes already – duh!).
There is so much going on with this recipe that I can’t even right now…
I really must learn how to control my foodie excitement.
Step One: The Potatoes
Does it matter what type of potatoes you use? Um, well I’m sure there are some potato purists out there that would suggest a certain variety of potatoes would be ideal for mashing – isn’t that right potato purists?
I’m actually convinced there would be a potato expert out there who would tell you there is – for some reason or other – a variety of potatoes perfect for fishcakes; perhaps even specifically for Thai fish cakes???
And now I have spent several paragraphs talking about varieties of potatoes which = BORING and you’re about the click away from this page.
Please stay – I’ll stop.
So, once again, does the variety of the potatoes matter: NO! Any old potato – peeled, washed, boiled and mashed – will do!
Now lets move onto the more interesting stuff….
Step 2: The Fish
What type of fish to use? Any. But preferably a white fish such as cod, whiting, hake, haddock or basically anything you can get hold of. Your own personal preference in fish will also help in this decision.
I used barramundi because it’s readily available here in Australia and was on sale of the fishmonger.
Once again, your choice of fish, like the potatoes, to use is really not a problem and this is getting boring again so let’s move on…
Step 3: The Green Curry Paste
Here it is, the hero of the hour, the good old Thai curry paste in all its green, flavourful awesomeness.
I’ve done this spiel a couple of time over the past few months but I’ll repeat myself (you know food blogger habits and stuff). You really have three options concerning the Thai green curry paste for this recipe and they are:
- Store bought curry paste: The quickest, easiest and simplest solution but, really, why would you you buy a jar of green curry paste when you consider the next two solutions:
- Make your own traditional and authentic Green curry paste from scratch: If this is the option you have chosen then pat yourself on the back and tell yourself “you rock!” Although making your own Thai curry paste from scratch is not hard it can be a commitment; there’s a lot of ingredients and it takes a bit of time and – if you’re going super authentic and using a mortar and pestle rather than your food processor – then you also need a whole lot of elbow grease and persistence too.
- And so we come to option number three: make this quick and easy cheaters version Thai Green Curry because a) you want to make your own Thai curry paste but want to do it with only simple ingredients found at your local supermarket and; b) because you really want to make another one of my recipes…. If you have chosen this option, you my friend, rock to the moon and back!
Step 4: Making the Fishcakes
The cooked potatoes, the fish, the curry paste, the coconut cream…. they all get smashed together, rolled into balls, crumbed and flattened into fishcakes.
Simples…
As for cooking them this can be done either by frying or oven baking. Now, in no way am I saying frying is better than oven baking (although in the Thyme to Mango household we do fry in coconut oil so maybe I am) but baked fishcakes don’t get that golden crispy layer of breadcrumbs, that crunch away to soft, gooey fishcake insides.
No, I’m not saying its better but, if fishcakes with crispy golden outsides and soft gooey insides is really important to you then I would go for the frying option.
And then…
Step 5: Eating the fishcakes
I don’t really need to walk you through this stuff do I?
Just slather with the chilli and lime tartar and get on with it.
If you’re feeling generous save a few for other people.
Thai Green Curry Fishcakes with Chilli Lime Tartar
Prep Time: 20 mins || Cook Time: 30 mins || Makes: 10-12 fishcakes
Ingredients:
For the fishcakes:
- 400g white fish fillets, finely diced (cod, whiting, hake etc)
- 450g potatoes
- dash of cooking oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp green Thai Curry paste (see link above)
- 1/4 cup coconut milk
- 1/4 cup firmly packed cilantro, finely chopped
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup flour (can use rice flour as a gluten free alternative)
- 1 cup of fresh bread crumbs
For the chilli-lime tartar:
- 1/2 Cup of mayonnaise
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp finely chopped gherkins
- 1 tbsp sriracha – or chilli sauce of choice
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- pinch of salt to taste
Instructions:
- Peel, wash and boil the potatoes until soft. Drain and allow to cool.
- Meanwhile, in a small skillet over medium heat, sauté the onion in the cooking oil for a few minutes until soft and translucent. Add the curry past and cook for another minute until fragrant. Add the coconut milk and stir well to combine. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- In a large bowl combine the fish, potatoes, onion and spice paste mixture and mash together until there are no more potato lumps (alternatively you can throw everything into your food processor, and blitz until smooth). Stir in the chopped cilantro and place in the fridge to chill completely (about 2 – 3 hours)
- Remove from the fridge. Scoop out 1/4 cup of the mixture and, between your hands, roll into a ball, repeat with the rest of the mixture (makes around 10 – 12 fishcakes)
- On three separate plates place the flour, beaten eggs and breadcrumbs. Roll the balls in the flour to coat evenly, followed by the egg wash and the bread crumbs. Place onto a lined baking tray and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. Repeat with the rest of the fish cakes.
- To oven bake: place in an oven preheated to 200°C/ 390°F for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned and cooked all the way through.
- To deep fry: Cook at 180°C/ °F for 8 to 10 minutes or until nicely browned and cooked through.
- FOR THE TARTAR SAUCE: Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and chill for 10 – 30 minutes before serving.
