Thai fishcakes with sweet and sour cucumber pickle
- Preparation and cooking time
- Total time
- + chilling
- Easy
- Serves 6 as a starter
Ingredients
- 400g skinless, boneless pollock fillets, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp Thai red curry paste
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 1½ tsp palm or soft brown sugar
- 1 lime leaf, shredded (or zest from ½ a lime)
- 1 egg white
- ½ stalk lemongrass, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp coriander leaves, plus extra to serve
- 50g green beans, thinly sliced into rounds
- 1 red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- for frying sunflower oil
CUCUMBER PICKLE
- 50ml white wine vinegar
- 50g caster sugar
- 1/2 cucumber, diced
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
Method
- STEP 1
Put the pollock, curry paste, fish sauce, sugar, lime leaf, egg white, lemongrass and coriander in a food processor with a tiny pinch of salt. Whizz to a smooth paste, then stir in the chopped beans and chilli, before shaping the mixture into about 18 small patties. Sprinkle both sides with some sesame seeds, then arrange on trays lined with baking paper, and chill for an hour to firm up.
- STEP 2
Meanwhile, gently heat the vinegar and sugar with 1 tbsp water until the sugar has dissolved. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from the heat and cool before stirring in the cucumber and shallot.
- STEP 3
Heat the oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Heat a good layer of oil in a large frying pan and fry the fishcakes, a few at a time, until golden on both sides. Transfer to the oven to finish off, then keep warm while you fry the rest. Pile onto a platter scattered with more coriander, with the cucumber pickle alongside.
