Spiced fish cakes with sweetened cucumber relish

Tod mun pla (or spiced fish cakes) are a popular Thai appetiser or snack. Made with fish paste seasoned with Thai curry paste, fish sauce and makrut lime leaves, these fish cakes are best served with a sweet and tangy Thai dipping sauce on the side.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  4

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

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21st Century Pub Food

episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

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episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

PG

Ingredients

• 200 g monkfish fillets
• 60 g Thai red curry paste
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp palm sugar
• ½ cup shredded grachai (see Note)
• 1 tbsp galangal powder
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 bunch snake beans, thinly sliced
• 2 makrut lime leaves, very thinly sliced
• Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• ¼ cup Thai basil leaves
• 1 banana leaf, to serve

For the sweetened cucumber relish

• 2 small cucumbers, finely chopped
• 2 Asian red eschallots, thinly sliced
• A knob ginger, thinly julienned
• 1 tsp thinly sliced long red chilli
• ¼ small bunch coriander, roughly chopped
• 4-6 deep-fried Thai basil leaves
• 3 tbsp cucumber syrup (see below)

For the cucumber syrup

• 100 ml coconut vinegar (or white vinegar)
• 100 g caster sugar
• 50 ml water
• 5 coriander roots
• 2 tsp pickled garlic, plus 1 tsp pickling liquid
• A generous pinch salt

Resting time: 2 hours

Instructions

1. The fish cake mixture can be prepared in advance. In a small food processer, purée the fish fillets to a coarse paste. Transfer to a large bowl with the Thai red curry paste, fish sauce, palm sugar, pounded grachai and galangal powder. Using your hands, combine the mixture well, slapping the paste on the side of the bowl as this helps tighten the protein, resulting in the signature Thai fish cake texture. Slap the mixture until the base is quite sticky.
   
2. Add the beaten egg to the mixture and mix until fully combined, continually slapping the paste until it is sticky. Add the beans and lime leaves. Season to taste – the mixture should be spicy and salty. Refrigerate the mixture while you make the sweetened cucumber relish.
   
3. To make the cucumber syrup, heat the ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat when the sugar dissolves. Allow the syrup to cool, then strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove any solids. It should taste sour, sweet and a little salty, but not too concentrated.
   
4. When ready to cook, heat enough oil to deep-fry in a large saucepan to 180˚C. Slap the prepared fish paste mixture to develop the texture once more, then fold through the fresh Thai basil leaves. Pinch the mixture into 6 roughly shaped ‘cakes’, then deep-fry in batches, for 2-3 minutes, or until golden and cooked through. Remove the cakes to a plate lined with paper towel.
   
5. To finish the dipping sauce, in a medium bowl combine the cucumbers, eschallots, ginger, chilli, coriander and deep-fried Thai basil leaves with the syrup and mix gently to combine. Serve the spiced fish cakes on a serving plate lined with banana leaf and the sweetened cucumber relish.

Note

• If fresh grachai is not available, you can use pickled grachai/krachai which is available at Asian grocers.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Stream free On Demand

21st Century Pub Food

episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

PG

episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

PG