Thai Fish Cakes

 

Juicy, tasty morsels with a little spice

Finally I have dug myself out from under the pile of work that filled my last few months. Finally, finally I have a little time and energy to post a recipe again – I have been missing it!

So to celebrate the occasion I threw myself a tiny little party. All very private and exclusive: just me and a plate of nibbles.

I got off from work much too late to buy fresh ingredients. But my mad working hours have made me rather good at stocking up the freezer. So I grabbed some frozen fish and prawns and within no time I had these lovely fish cakes sizzling in the oven. (Actually I even grabbed the coconut milk from the freezer – whenever I have some left-over I freeze the rest in an ice-cube tray and then pop the cubes into a freezer bag).

The amazing thing is this really is a store-cupboard/freezer dish – you need nothing fresh (I do admit I would suggest adding the fresh coriander, but I have done it without plenty of times).

I’ll be honest these are not quite authentic Thai fish cakes, but they are so tasty and healthy so I have stuck with these. ( I love them as a starter or side to zucchini “Pad Thai”)

By the way, you can play with the texture of these by adjusting the baking time. Baking them longer makes them a little chewy and more like the fish cakes I have eaten in Thailand. If you cook them for a shorter time they are more succulent and airier.  Either way, they are fabulous.

The only thing I have to admit…..this recipe is not coming to you very ‘fresh’. It has been over a week month since I threw myself that I-finally-have-time-to-blog-again party. I guess I still need to do some work on the recipe for the perfect free – and work time balance.

 

Ingredients
(a hardly altered from the blog ‘45 Degrees‘)
Serves 2

350 g  white-fleshed fish fillets( frozen is fine) (I have used cod, red mullet)
150 g uncooked, peeled prawns (frozen is fine)
2 tbsp ( low-fat)  coconut milk
1 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tbsp chili powder
1/3 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp brown sugar
optional: 1 kaffir lime leaves (I find mine in the freezer section of my Asian supermarket)
1 spring onions
small handful fresh coriander
2cm piece ginger,
3 cloves garlic
1 red chili (alternatively 1/2 tsp dried crushed chili)

 

Recipe

1. Rinse the fish and prawns and pat as dry as possible.
2. Cut in chunks and place in food processor.
3. In a cup combine coconut milk, fish sauce, chili powder, cumin, coriander and brown sugar. Pour over the fish.
4. Use scissors to cut the lime leaf into strips.
5. Slice spring onion.
6. Chop coriander.
7. Grate the ginger.
8. Mince the garlic
9. Chop the chili.
10. Add all the above ingredients to the fish.
11. Pulse to create a thick paste.
12. Use your hands to form the paste into little balls (about the size of a golf ball). Press to make a thick disk. (Tip: wet your hands to make the rolling easier. If your paste is too wet you can add a little flour or breadcrumbs.)
13. Refrigerate the cakes for 10 min (you can scip this step but I find it makes for juicier cakes).
14. Preheat the oven to 190C.
15. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Place cakes on tray.
16. Bake 15 min. Turn and bake another 10-15 min. The cakes will still be quite moist. If you prefer a chewier cake bake for a little longer).
17. Serve with a dipping sauce or Sweet chili sauce, a lime wedge and a few coriander leaves.

Serve with

• Plain as a starter
• As a side to zucchini Pad Thai

 

Tips

• All the ingredients can be stored in the freezer (and the coriander can be left out.)
• Left-over coconut milk can be frozen in an ice cube tray and then stored in a freezer bag.

Related recipes

Zucchini Noodle Pad Thai

Squid Nibbles Five Spice

Asian Chicken Appetizer

Thai Beef Appetizer Cups

Tuna Tartar

Prawn Dumplings

Chocolate Muffins with Lentils

Yes, you read correctly: muffins with lentils! But before I reveal more about this amazing idea for sneaking healthy proteins into your next sweet snack:

Welcome to the New Year! Wishing you all that is good and beautiful for 2015….. which very neatly brings me back to lentils: eating lentils at the beginning of the new year is an Italian custom that associates lentils with prosperity. And although I am in no way Italian, I enjoy symbolic traditions (and lentils). I was searching for a creative new way to prepare them when I stumbled across this recipe, which of course I could not resist. I will admit I was a little doubtful, but (trust me on this) it works!

These muffins are moist, not too sweet, full of flavour (and none of it ‘lentily’) and last but not least they are actually rather healthy: I made them using half whole wheat flour (I have not tried but am sure you can experiment increasing the whole wheat ratio). Also they are made with oil instead of butter. Granted, they contain sugar, but really…… who is going to be thinking about that when they are biting into a muffin that is studded with power packed lentils 😉

I split the batter in to batches to experiment with frozen cherries, blueberries and raspberries. It was a close call, but I slightly preferred the raspberries because of beautiful contrast between the tart fruit and the rich chocolate. Nonetheless I think I will take the same approach next time and making different batches as I liked the variation.  I am sure there are many more options for filling them: chocolate chips and walnuts, half a plum, a strawberry, poached pear…..By the way, I did make some without any fruit, but I found them a little dry and plain in comparison.

But whatever you add, do not leave out the lentils 🙂

Ingredients
(a hardly altered from the blog “Our Fresh Kitchen“)
12 muffins

75g (3/4 cup) green lentils
About 225ml (1 3/4 cup) water
1/2 tsp salt
60g (1/4 cup) all purpose flour
65g (1/4 cup) whole wheat flour
50-60g (1/2 cup) Demerara sugar (NL: donkere basterd suiker DE: dunkeler brauner Zucker)
30g (1/4 cup) cocoa powder
1 generous tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp chilli flakes
125ml (1/2 cup) mild tasting olive oil
2 eggs (see “tips” for vegan alternative)
1 tsp vanilla essence
200g frozen fruit (either half blueberries half raspberries or all of one sort)

Recipe

1. Bring lentils, water and salt to the boil. Simmer on a low heat for about 45 min. Check half way through to ensure there is enough water. Cook until lentils are very soft and all the water is absorbed.
2. When the lentils are done remove from heat and allow to cool slightly about 10 min.
3. Preheat oven to 190C (375F).
4. Prepare your 12 hole muffin tin(s) (If using a silicon muffin tin no grease is needed otherwise you might want to grease your tin or line it with paper cups).
5. In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients – the two types of flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and – soda as well as the chili flakes.
6. In a second bowl or measuring cup combine oil, egg and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
7. Stir the cooked lentils into the dry mix and combine. Then stir in the wet ingredients – the oil, egg and vanilla.
8. Fold fruit into the batter (even if you are using both types of fruit you can easily use the one large bowl to fold blueberries under half the batter and raspberries under the other half)
9. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin.
10. Bake for about 20-25 min or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (do not over bake as the muffins will dry out).
11. Remove the muffins from the tin and allow to cool on a wire rack.
12. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

 

Tips & Variations

• For a vegan recipe replace the eggs with a mix of 2 tbsp chia seeds and 6 tbsp water that you allow to sit for 5 min until it forms a gel
• Instead of the berries you can fold in chocolate chips and/or walnuts, half a plum, a strawberry, poached pear

I have linked this post to the novice gardener’s fabulous initiative of hosting fiesta Fridays
https://thenovicegardener.wordpress.com/2015/01/09/fiesta-friday-50/

Simple Supper Asian Prawn Omelette

 

‘Although I cannot lay an egg, I am a very good judge of omelettes’ – George Bernard Shaw

It is funny what can make you feel happy. I just found myself thinking: finally, finally it is cold, grey and rainy again – how fabulous that the weather is so dismal and I am so tired, that I want to stay inside, sit behind my laptop and finally write a post again. 🙂

The summer has been filled with long sunny days that were just too short for cooking extensive meals. Therefore the last weeks have been all about quick and easy dinners fixes. This dish has been one of my favourite discoveries: a simple silky omelette with plump and juicy prawns. The flavours are a combination of the saltiness of soy sauce and the delicate garlic of chives. It makes a lovely lunch dish or a light dinner with some fried rice and steamed paksoi.

I came across this Asian dish in the most roundabout way. It all started with a visit to Spain earlier this year and a day trip to Gibraltar. On a lunch menu full of rich and heavy dishes, the “Prawn Omelette” caught my eye.  The combination made so much sense. There I was looking forward to a delicate fluffy omelette, when my plate arrived piled high with these odd crispy fritters. Unfortunately they were greasy and lacked favour, but they had caught my imagination.

I discovered that Tortitas de Camarones, shrimp pancakes, are a specialty of Andalucía. They are made from an egg-less batter of (part) chickpea flour and of course shrimp.  Once home I almost became obsessed with turning, what sounded like a winning combination of ingredients, into a tasty dish. Obstinate as I am, I tried (and failed) over and over again. When I was mean with the oil the results was rubbery, almost slimy. When I gave in and cooked the fritters in generous amounts of oil, the texture was lovely, but the fritters were sickly greasy.

As I was about to make another experimental batch when my eye fell on the beautiful plump prawns I had bought (a variation on the tiny shrimp I had been using until then, in the hope it would improe things). And I realized I just didn’t have the heart to waste these beauties on another failed dish. So instead I decided to make the omelette that I would have wanted to have been served that day. Simple and plain but so satisfyingly delicate. 

The thing I like best about the island of Gibraltar …….is that it inspired me to make Asian Prawn Omelettes….and how it looks in the distance

Ingredients
(based on ‘Wokking Mum‘)
Serves 1

Marinated prawns
1 tsp shaoxing rice wine (or dry pale sherry or at a pinch some vermouth or sake, use a little less)
1/4 tsp tapioca- or corn starch
salt
pepper
6 large prawns

Omelette
1 small tomato
1 spring onion
optional: oil
1/2 tbsp tapioca- or corn starch
2 tbsp milk or chicken stock or water
1 tsp soy sauce
optional: a few drops of sesame oil
2 eggs
salt
pepper
chives
optional: oyster sauce

 

Recipe

1. Combine the rice wine with the starch and mix until smooth.
2. Add the salt, pepper and prawns. Refrigerate until ready to use. .
3. Skin the tomatoes (bring a small pot of water to the boil. Cut a cross into the skin of the tomato. Briefly drop into the hot water. Remove and skin.)
4. Dice the tomato. If it is very juicy you might want to discard the seeds.
5. Chop the spring onion.
6. If using, heat a little oil small pan. Fry the prawns until 80% cooked. Remove from the pan.
7. Combine the starch with the milk, stock or water and mix until smooth.
8. Whisk in the two eggs.
9. Season with soy sauce, sesame oil (optional), salt and pepper.
10. Add the tomato, spring onion and prawns to the egg mix.
11. Pour the mixture back into the pan.
12. Reduce the heat and cook until the egg is 90% set.
13. Chop the chives.
14. Plate and sprinkle with chives and oyster sauce, if using. 

Tips & Variations
After you have cooked the prawns add some thinly sliced onions and/or bean sprouts to your pan

Serve with
Fried rice and paksoi or sugar snaps

Cuisses de Grenouille (Frog Legs)

Tradition to some, adventure to others either way these are simple and fabulous

Do you know how frog’s legs became a traditional French delicacy?

Apparently in the 12th century Catholic monks were growing so fat that the church introduced additional days for fasting when meat was forbidden. The monks were quick to have frogs categorized as fish rather than meat, which meant they could be enjoyed without restriction. Devout peasants followed the example and the tradition of eating frog legs was born.

The first time I had frog legs I was a kid and we were having one of our rare meals out at the local Italian. The frog legs where smothered in a tomato sauce and I remember the adventurous feeling of eating them more than the actual taste. I have not had them often since so I have no idea what inspired me to google a recipe for them the other day. I was blown away to discover how easy they are to prepare. They are hardly any effort, look spectacularly exotic and taste amazing: fabulous little morsels of succulent and delicate meat.

Now I know that they are said to taste like chicken, but really…..they don’t. Especially paired with the deep flavours of grassy parsley and pungent garlic they have an earthy taste that reminds of a shallow creek.

Ingredients
Serves 4 as a starter

500g frog legs
ca. 1/2 liter milk
30 g (2 tbsp) flour
salt, pepper
2 cloves garlic
12 sprigs of flat leaf parsley
20-40g (1-2 tbsp) butter

Recipe

1. Defrost the frog legs in the fridge over night or for 15 min in a bowl of cold water.
2. Place the legs in a bowl, cover with milk. Let the legs soak in the milk for 30-60 minutes (or if you have the time 8 hours…overnight…). Or if you are rushed then skip the soaking all together.
3. Pour off the milk and dab the legs dry with kitchen paper.
4. Place flour on a wide place and combine with salt and pepper.
5. Heat a large frying pan.
6. First add oil to the pan. When it is hot add the butter.
7. Dredge the frogs in the flour, shake off excess flour.
8. Fry the legs on medium heat for about 5 min. Flip and fry another 5 min.
9. Mince the garlic and add when the meat is almost done.
10. Chop theparsley. Sprinkle half over the legs and toss.
11. Place the legs on a serving plate and sprinkle with the rest of the parsley.
12. Serve immediately.

Serve with

• Just some crusty  bread and a lemon wedge
• or for a main meals you can add some fried chanterelle of blanched green beans
• oven roast potato wedges

Baid Mutajjan – Middle Eastern Fried Hard Boiled Eggs a Guest Post by Vanya

I have mentioned before, that I started blogging because I wanted to keep a record of what I cook (just for myself) and wanted to find a way of sharing my recipe with friends and family (without bombarding them with endless emails). Little did I know that blogging would introduce me to a whole new world of blogging friends that share my passion for food. I have met so many lovely new people, like Vanya who I have really been enjoying to get to know through her stories,  recipes and the comments she leave on my posts.

And then one day Vanya took me by surprise by invting me for a visit – blogger style. A few weeks back she hosted me as a guest on her blog and I brought some Beet Muffins to celebrate the occasion. Of course I immidiately wanted to return the honour, by inviting her to do a guest post on my blog. She had a few suggestions for recipes of which one immidiately caught my eye: Arabian Fried Eggs. I was mystified and curious. But let me make way for Vanya to explain this magnificent recipe further:

 

Fried hard boiled eggs are a common feature in many Middle Eastern households but you will find this most commonly in Egypt. I first came across this recipe in the Middle Eastern cookbook, Traditional Arabic Cooking by Miriam Al Hashimi. According to the author, if you take a walk through the markets of Cairo, you can find traders selling tiny packets or conesof blended spices which are used for flavouring the fried eggs.

There are several different variations based on the blend of spices. The one I decided to try was the sumac-sesame seed blend.

Sumac is a flowering shrub and the dried fruit drupes of this plant is ground to get a crimson red tangy spice that is used extensively in Middle Eastern cooking. This spice has a tangy, lemony, citrusy flavour that goes well in salad dressings and with grilled meats. Sumac is easily available these days at most supermarkets or in specialty Middle Eastern food stores.

This dish makes a delicious and pretty accompaniment or starter to any meal. So here’s the recipe for Baid Mutajjan or fried hard boiled eggs rolled in sumac-sesame seed spice blend.

Ingredients

5 fresh eggs
2-3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp sumac
2 tbsp sesame seeds
salt – to season
fresh coriander leaves – finely chopped, for garnish

Recipe

1. Hard boil the eggs, remove shell and cut into halves. Season lightly with salt.
2. Dry roast the sesame seeds till light golden; make sure not to burn.
3. Coarsely grind the sumac and sesame seeds in a mortar and pestle and keep aside.
4. In a flat pan, heat oil (on medium heat) and place the eggs yolk side down. A bit of splutter is expected. (You can fry the eggs whole too without cutting into halves but ensure that you prick a couple of holes with a fork to avoid the eggs from exploding.)
5. After a minute or two, turn the eggs over and fry another minute. Remove from flame.
6. Roll or dust the eggs with the sumac-sesame seed blend. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves just before serving.

 For more of Vanya’s amazing recipes visit her site Skinny Chef de Cuisine.