Thai-Spiced Salmon Fish Cakes

Thai-Spiced Salmon Fishcakes

Now the fish cake comes in many forms, and as many kinds of fish that can be found, but all start with potato... except those that rely on cornflour and egg to bind...

We have a habit of over-doing it on the mash when it comes to cooking, so I find it's often easier to freeze the excess for later use - BUT - on this occasion my mash stockpile was depleted so I had to resort to nuking a couple of handfuls of old tatties instead... nothing wrong with that, but I know the traditionalists would have kittens for suggesting it! I have to admit that this technique made it easier to make, with the mash still warm rather than trying to revive a mash-cicle with extra butter or milk.

Click for Video HERE

Ingredients:
2-3tbsp Thai Curry Paste (I used readymade Green, but Red or Massaman both work well, or make your own if you have the time)
1 Red Onion, half sliced, half finely chopped
Salmon Fillets (roughly 350-400g)*
Rapeseed Oil +
450-500g Small Potatoes (Or the equivalent in mash)*
30-40g Butter
Small Bunch Coriander, snipped**
Seasoning
150-200g Breadcrumbs***
1 Egg, beaten
50g Flour

Method:
Preheat Oven to Gas Mark 7/ 200C

1. Spread 1-2tbsp curry paste onto a large sheet of foil, scatter with the sliced onion and lay the salmon on top and drizzle with oil before squidging around to coat. Seal the foil into a parcel and bake for 25 minutes. Leave to stand for 5-10 minutes for the steam to dissipate before opening.
2. Stab your potatoes all over then microwave on HIGH for 10-15 minutes until cooked through, stand for 5-10 minutes. Or, reawaken your mash with butter or a splash of milk.
3. Chop the potatoes and mash in a bowl with the butter, somewhere between crushed and pureed, I prefer them lumpy and with the skin still on.****
4. Flake the fish into the bowl, don't break it up too much, the next few processes will do a lot of that for you, then scoop in any leftover paste from the foil.
5. Mix briefly, then add the rest of the onion and coriander and mix well. Taste, then adjust the seasoning, adding more curry paste if you want more of a kick. Mix very well - nothing worse than a mouthful of curry paste!
6. Shape into patties with your hands - If the mixture is still hot you can leave it for a while, but this is best shaped whilst still warm. Once shaped you can leave these to cool, then chill until ready to coat and cook.
7. Blitz your breadcrumbs (or whatever you're using) and spread onto a plate.
8. Line up three plates/dishes with seasoned flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs. Coat each patty with flour, egg and breadcrumbs, then shallow fry in batches until golden.
9. Drain on kitchen paper and serve, or drain and allow to cool and chill until needed (These can be frozen for up to 3 months)
10. Bake for 20 minutes at Gas Mark 7 / 200C, 25 minutes from frozen, until piping hot.

*Any fish will do, but oily fish like salmon will stand up to spices better. You can easily multiply up or down as long as you have 2:3 fish:potato, otherwise you may need to add egg or cornflour to bind everything together. If you have already buttered your mash you should not add any more, just make sure it is completely thawed out - room temperature is doable, although it helps if it is still warm, not re-heated... it also helps if the mash isn't completely smooth.
**Yes, I know coriander is the least popular of herbs - it is what I had in the fridge at the time of filming. Use whatever you have, Thai Basil, regular Basil or Parsley work well.
***Use panko or old dry bread if you like, I prefer to blend up whatever I have to hand - in the video I used an end crust, a few crackers and some prawn crackers that were left over from a takeaway, all add different types of crunch.
****Keeping the skin preserves most of the vitamins in a potato, and adds fibre as well as texture. Unless your spuds are full of eyes and bruises just leave them on and chop your potatoes into chunks without peeling. - Obviously if you want fluffy roasties you'll have to peel them anyway.