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Thai Fish Cakes w/ Coriander & Cucumber Dipping Salsa

Thai Fish Cakes with Coriander & Cucumber Dipping Salsa

Paul Hegeman
4.92 from 46 votes
Prep Time 50 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Course Sauce and Dips
Cuisine Thai
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
 
 

  • 550 grams white fish fillets boneless, skinless
  • 3 limes
  • 3 kaffir lime leaves
  • 1-2 star anise
  • 2 knobs ginger
  • 2 stalks lemongrass
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 3 red birds eye chillis
  • palm sugar
  • 2 bunches coriander
  • 1 bunch mint leaves
  • telegraph cucumber
  • fish sauce
  • mirin
  • 1 tablespoon cashews
  • 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
  • sesame oil
  • vegetable oil
  • sea salt flakes
  • white pepper ground

Instructions
 

For the Fishcake Mix:

  • There are a lot of different ingredients so to keep yourself organized, prep the items as listed below and place them all in separate little bowls before continuing.
  • In a small saucepan put enough water to just cover the base and bring to the boil.
  • Place kaffir lime leaves and star anise into boiling water and remove from the heat.
  • Finely zest the outside of 2 of the limes.
  • Peel the garlic cloves, clean the ginger and chop roughly.
  • Cut the chillis in half, and finely slice the chillis.
  • Clean excess dirt off the coriander, cut the roots off, pick all the leaves and chop the leaves finely.
  • Pick all the leaves off the mint and chop finely.
  • Bash the stalks of lemongrass with a kitchen mallet and remove the thick woody ends, approx 2 cm (1 inch) from the base and the tips and discard. The remaining lemon grass, chop very finely.
  • Grate a couple of table spoons of palm sugar.
  • Chop the blanched kaffir lime leaves.
  • In a mortar and pestle place the garlic, ginger, chilli seeds, coriander roots, 1/3rd of the coriander leaves, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, the palm sugar, a pinch of salt and pepper. Grind the ingredients together until a paste starts to develop. As you grind, spoon in a little of the star anise water.
  • Note (if you do not have a mortar & pestle, a food processor can be used, however result will be better from the mortar and pestle).
  • Once the paste has formed, pick out any overly fibrous or woody parts, discard and set the paste aside.
  • Ensure all the bones have been removed from the fish and chop the meat roughly.
  • Place the fish into your food processor, add a couple tablespoons of mint, sliced chilli, chopped cashews, lime zest, 1-2 tbsps of the paste, 2 tsp fish sauce, the juice of 2 limes, a touch of salt and pepper.
  • Process on high until a minced texture is achieved.
  • The mix should be nicely flecked with green, and red and bits of cashew visible.
  • Roll the mixture into 2 cm (1 inch) balls, and press slightly flat and place in refrigerator.

Dipping Salsa

  • Peel and seed the cucumber, then chop very finely.
  • Retain as much juice from the seeds as possible and discard the seeds.
  • Place the chopped cucumber in a mixing bowl with the remaining chopped coriander leaves, add 1.5 tablespoons of mirin, a slight drizzle of sesame oil, the remaining chopped mint leaves, juice of 1/2 a lime, salt, pepper and mix together.
  • Taste for seasoning and if a sweeter dip is desired a little palm sugar can be dissolved into the dip.

Cooking and Assembly

  • Remove the fish cakes from the fridge, place a non stick pan on a medium flame and cover the base with oil.
  • Brown the cakes on either side approx 2 minutes a side (be careful not to overcook and dry them out) and set aside to drain.
  • Cut one in half to ensure it is cooked, if not they may require a few minutes in the oven.
  • Arrange on the serving plate and garnish with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.

Notes

Thai Fish Cakes with Coriander and Cucumber Dipping Salsa
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