Thai Fish Cakes and Chilli dipping sauce

We get fish delivered once a week. Some weeks it is fish we know, others it is a new type. This week was one I was not familiar with so we decided to try something new.
The fish cakes needed a bit more fish sauce for salt. The dipping sauce was great!

Thai Fish Cakes

• 250g/8oz boneless, skinless white fish fillets

• 1 egg

• finely grated zest of 1 lime

• 2 tbsp chopped coriander/cilantro leaves

• 1 tbsp Red Curry Base or store bought thai red curry paste

• 2 tsp fish sauce

• 1 tsp soft brown sugar

• a little neutral oil, to fry

• microgreens or small salad leaves, to garnish

• 1/2 recipe Vietnamese Dressing (see below)

Vietnamese Dressing

• ½ cup Thai sweet chilli sauce

• ¼ cup rice vinegar

• 2 tbsp fish sauce

• finely grated zest of 1 lime or lemon, no pith

• 2 tbsp lime or lemon juice

• 2 double kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded (optional)

To make Dipping Sauce, place all the ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine.

Combine fish, egg, lime zest, coriander/cilantro, Red Curry Base or curry paste, fish sauce and sugar in a food processor and pulse 4 or 5 times to a coarse paste. Do not overprocess – you want texture to the fish cakes.

Heat a little oil in a heavy-based frypan and, working in batches, shallow-fry tablespoons of the mixture over a medium heat until springy to the touch and cooked through (about 2 minutes each side). They can be made a few hours in advance, chilled until needed and reheated in an 180°C/350°F oven for 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature garnished with microgreens or small salad leaves and accompanied by Vietnamese Dressing (see below)

Place all ingredients in a small jar and shake to combine.

Sri Lankan fish and tomato curry

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• We get a delivery of fish once a week. This week it was Monk Fish  - perfect for a space or curry. I also had lots of tomatoes from my garden so I searched for a recipe and found this one. I only used a tiny tin of coconut milk and used lots more tomatoes. It was a really ice mild curry. We served it over brown rice.
  The lime wedge squeezed over it made a really big difference to the flavour.
  
  
  
  
  http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/sri-lankan-fish-tomato-curry/5545fd88-d63f-4720-874d-1307a0fccb68
  
  
  
  

Sri Lankan fish and tomato curry

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• 3 tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 long green chillies, deseeded, chopped
• 4cm piece ginger, peeled, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 750g boneless thick white fish fillets, cut into 6cm pieces
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large brown onion, chopped
• 2 cups coconut cream
• 20 fresh curry leaves
• 1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate (see note)
• Steamed basmati rice, to serve
• Lime wedges, to serve
• Thinly sliced red chillies, to serve
  
  

  METHOD

  • Step 1
    Process tomatoes, garlic, chillies, ginger, cumin, coriander and 1 teaspoon turmeric until just combined.
  • Step 2
    Pat fish dry with paper towel. Combine remaining 1 teaspoon turmeric and a pinch of salt. Sprinkle over both sides of fish.
  • Step 3
    Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large frying pan over high heat until hot. Add fish. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until sealed and golden. Transfer to a plate. Add remaining oil to pan. Reduce heat to medium-high. Add onion. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add pureed tomato mixture. Cook for 10 minutes or until oil begins to separate from mixture. Reduce heat to medium. Stir in coconut cream and curry leaves. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Partially cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly.
  • Step 4
    Return fish to pan. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 5 minutes or until fish is cooked through. Stir in tamarind concentrate. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 1 minute. Serve with rice, lime wedges and chilli.