Matt Preston's Thai Fish Cakes

Ingredients

1/2 iceberg lettuce, leaves separated
1/2 bunch coriander sprigs
1/2 bunch mint sprigs
85 g (1 1/2 cups) bean shoots
2 Lebanese cucumbers, sliced lengthways
Lime wedges to serve

Prik Nam Pla:

55 g coarsely grated palm sugar or caster sugar
Finely grated zest and juice of 2 limes
60 ml rice wine vinegar
2 Tbs fish sauce
Your choice of chillies:
Hot – 3 Thai green chillies, finely chopped plus 2 red bird's eye or long red chillies, thinly sliced
Mild: 4 long red chillies, deseeded and thinly sliced

Fish Cakes:

600 g skinless white fish fillets (such as ling, whiting or flathead), pin boned
35 g cornflour
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tbs red curry paste
2 tsp grated palm sugar or brown sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
2 egg whites
Sea salt
150 g green beans, trimmed and thinly sliced
1/3 cup coriander sprigs, finely chopped
2 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped
1 Tbs fish sauce
1 tsp ground white pepper
125 ml rice bran or peanut oil

Method

Prik Nam Pla:

Place sugar, lime zest and juice, vinegar, fish sauce and chilli in a bowl and whisk with a fork until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside.

Fish Cakes:

Place fish in a food processor and blitz until smooth. Add cornflour, garlic, curry paste, sugar, sesame oil, egg whites and a good pinch of salt and blitz until well combined.

Transfer fish mixture into a bowl. Add chopped green beans, coriander, spring onion, kaffir lime, fish sauce and white pepper. Stir until well combined.

Line a baking tray with baking paper. Using wet hands, shaped heaped tablespoons of the m ixutre into about 20 round flat fish cakes. Transfer to the prepared tray.

Heat the rice bran or peanut oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Working in batches, add the fish cakes and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to drain.

Arrange the fish cakes on a large platter, along with the lettuce, coriander, mint, bean shoots, cucumber and lime wedges. Pour the prik nam pla into a serving bowl and take it all to the table.

To assemble, use the lettuce leaves to wrap up the fish cakes, herbs, be4an shoots, cucumber and a good squeeze of lime, then dunk them in the sauce to eat.

Credits: Recipe and image from Yummy Easy Quick Around the World by Matt Preston. Published by Pan Macmillan. RRP $39.99, available now.