Spicy Fish Cakes

Served with steamed rice and a salad on the side, these make a great meal, or you can make them smaller and they're perfect to pass around with drinks as a pre-dinner snack. I love them served with the dipping sauce given below, but if you're pushed for time Thai sweet chilli sauce is good too.

Another bonus is that they are a great way to use cheaper types of fish - when I saw Hoki in the supermarket the other day, these were the first thing that came to my mind!

For about 20 cakes:
3 slices white bread
1/2 medium red onion
300-400g fish fillets, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons red curry paste
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
about 1/4 cup chopped coriander
2-3 tablespoons olive or canola oil to cook

Dipping Sauce
2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon sugar
finely chopped red chilli to taste
tiny cubes of carrot and chopped coriander for colour

Tear the bread slices into 4-6 pieces each and place in a food processor fitted with the metal chopping blade. Process until the crumbs are no larger than peas.

Chop the onion into 4-6 chunks and add to the crumbs along with the fish. Process until the fish is finely chopped, then add the next five ingredients and process until the mixture begins to form a ball. Add the coriander and and process until just mixed.

Working with wet hands (this prevents sticking), shape the mixture into walnut sized balls, then flatten these into disks about 1.5cm thick.

When the cakes are shaped, set them aside for a couple of minutes while you prepare the dipping sauce by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl and stirring until the sugar dissolves.

Heat just enough of the oil to cover the bottom of a non-stick fry pan. Add as many of the cakes as will comfortably fit in one batch and cook over a medium heat until the first side is golden brown (about 3 minutes), then gently turn them over and cook the second side.

Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels while you cook the rest.

Arrange on a platter (thinly shredded lettuce or mesclun makes a good base) and with bowl (or bowls) of the dipping sauce and serve.

Photography: Lindsay Keats Photography