Thai Fish Cakes

I love fish cakes. And that is despite eating quite a few bad ones in my time!

Fish cakes are a lean source of protein as they are low in fat, in particular low in saturated fat, they are also a good source of omega 3 fats (which keep your heart and brain healthy) and make a delicious light and nutritious meal or snack

These are lovely fish cakes – light, juicy (not rubbery like some I’ve eaten), flavour-packed without being spicy-hot, easy to make and panfried rather than deep fried, so very healthy.  I also made sure I used a sustainable fish when making them

You can make fish cakes using a Thai curry paste (usually red), however I don’t usually have any on hand, plus I like the simplicity of this recipe

We made these for a dinner party last night and they were a great hit.  Usually I cook them on the stove, but we cooked them on the bbq (along with marinated prawns…yum!).  Luckily there were 2 left so I could photograph them today!!

Thai Fish Cakes – adapted from taste.com.au

Makes 14

• 1 bunch coriander, including stalks and roots, washed well (reserve about 1/2 cup of leaves for garnishing)
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
• 2-3 kaffir lime leaves, deveined
• 1/2-1 large Thai red chilli (a mild, not hot chilli), optional
• 1 egg
• 35g (1/4 cup) gluten free cornflour
• 500g firm white boneless fish fillets (I used ling), coarsely chopped
• 10 (60g) green beans, finely chopped (2-3mm wide)
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or rice bran oil
• 1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve
• Sweet chilli sauce, extra, to serve

Directions:

1. Put coriander stalks, roots and some of the leaves into a food processor, process for 15-20 seconds until finely chopped
2. Add fish sauce, sweet chilli sauce, kaffir lime leaves, chilli and egg to processor and process for 10-15 seconds more
3. Then add cornflour and fish, process for 15-20 seconds until well blended
4. Tip mixture into a bowl and stir the green beans through
5. Using a soup spoon, scoop out heaped spoonfuls and roll into a ball, then flatten  slightly and place on tray (they can be made up to this point, then covered and refridgerated until you are ready to cook them)
6. Heat a frying pan over medium heat.  When hot add oil, then the fish cakes
7. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, until lightly browned and cooked through in the middle
8. Serve garnished with reserved coriander leaves, lime wedges and extra sweet chilli sauce

Per fish cake: 290kJ or 69 calories; P 8g Fat 2g SFat 0.5g CHO 4g Fibre <1g

Note: for low FODMAP version, make sure the sweet chilli sauce does not contain garlic