Thai spiced fish cakes

Easy Spicy Fish Cakes

A frequent friday evening supper in our house is spiced fish cakes. Of course, fish seems right on a friday; I like to suppose that the cultural traditions that make this so, also mean that the fishmonger has a good turnover at the end of the week - a good time to buy fish. Any white fish will do : I tend to choose tarakihi, because it is not as bad as other fish on offer. It is often fairly cheap, and since it is being ground up and highly flavoured the texture and flavour of more expensive fish would be wasted here.

Little fish cakes, piled on a communal platter is a lovely way to eat, and relax, after a hard week at work. They are quick and easy and undemanding in both their preparation and cooking - much easier than popping out for a takeaway, I really do think.

Thai spiced fish cakes
enough for 2

250g white fish fillets
1 heaped tablespoon cornflour
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 egg
a handful of coriander leaves and stalks, chopped
a chilli, chopped
2 teaspoons Thai curry paste
1 spring onion, white and green, sliced

To serve
Vietnamese mint, Thai basil, or another herb
Lemon or lime wedges
Chilli or soy sauce

Process all the ingredients, except the spring onions, in a food processor until chopped and combined. Fold through the spring onions. Place in a bowl in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Heat a heavy frying pan with a little peanut oil for frying. Fry spoonfuls of the mixture until golden on each side. Keep the cooked cakes warm in a low oven while the rest are cooking.
Serve sprinkled with herb leaves, lemon wedges for squeezing over and a sauce for dipping.