My children loved these tasty fish cakes when they were young teenagers – and now they are young adults they still love them!

Make sure you buy very fresh fish, and prepare and cook the fish cakes on the day of purchase.

Ingredients

300g firm white fish fillets
1/4 cup coriander leaves
1 teaspoon cornflour
1/2 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons very cold water
1 teaspoon red curry paste
1 kaffir lime leaf, very finely shredded then chopped
2 spring onions, very finely sliced
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 lime wedges, to serve
or 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce, to serve

Green salad

pinch curry powder
1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 big handfuls mixed green salad leaves, washed and dried

Method

1. To prepare the fish, remove the skin and bones. Place the flesh in a food processor with the coriander leaves and pulse in short 2-second bursts until the fish is evenly blended. Don’t over-process or the fish will start to become warm and will lose its freshness.
2. Add the cornflour, beaten egg, fish sauce, cold water and curry paste to the food processor and blend until just combined. Tip the mixture into a bowl and stir in the lime leaf and spring onions. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
3. Using cold, moistened hands, take 2 tablespoons of the mixture, roll it into a small ball then flatten into a patty. Repeat with the remaining mixture to make a total of 6 patties.
4. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan and fry the fish cakes for about 3 minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked through. Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm.
5. To make the salad, put the curry powder and vinegar in a large mixing bowl and season lightly with salt and pepper. Stir in the oil, then add the salad leaves and toss gently.
6. Serve the warm fish cakes with lime wedges or sweet chilli sauce and accompany with the salad.

Recipe courtesy of Cooked.com.au.

This recipe first appeared in Recipes for a Great Life by Gabriel Gaté.