Spicy fish cakes with zesty citrus sauce

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SPICY FISH CAKES WITH ZESTY CITRUS SAUCE

This Thai-inspired recipe is adapted from “The Flavour Principle” by Lucy Waverman and Beppi Crosariol. Use haddock, whiting, cod or any white firm-flesh fish (shrimp is another option) for these cakes, which may be deep-fried instead of pan-fried, if desired. The authors use this dish as a first course to an all-fish, all-Asian dinner menu, but you could serve it with a watercress salad for a light Lenten meal.

Prep: 30 minutes

Chill: 1 hour

Cook: 4-6 minutes per batch

Makes: 8 cakes, 4 first-course servings

Ingredients

1 pound skinless haddock fillets

1/4 cup chopped green onions

2 tablespoons each, chopped: lemon grass, cilantro

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon each: fish sauce, Thai red curry paste

1 1/2 teaspoon grated lime zest

1 teaspoon lime juice

1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 egg

1 cup thinly sliced long beans or green beans

2 tablespoons oil

Zesty citrus sauce, see recipe

Directions

Cut fish into cubes. Place in a food processor or mini-chopper with green onions, lemon grass, cilantro, cornstarch, fish sauce, curry paste, lime zest and juice, sugar and egg. Pulse in short bursts until mixture is a smooth paste. Stir in long beans. Cover; refrigerate, 1 hour.

Roll mixture into 8 balls, a little more than 1/4 cup per ball. Press each ball flat to form a cake.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry cakes in batches until brown, 2-3 minutes per side. Add more oil to pan as needed. Drain cakes on paper towels.

Nutrition information per serving: 192 calories, 9 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 105 mg cholesterol, 7 g carbohydrates, 20 g protein, 815 mg sodium, 1 g fiber

ZESTY CITRUS SAUCE

Sambal oelek chili paste may be found in Asian markets, specialty stores and some supermarkets.

Combine in a bowl: 1/4 cup water; 2 tablespoons each: chopped fresh mint, lime juice and lemon juice; 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon brown sugar; 1 tablespoon fish sauce; 1 teaspoon each: grated lime zest, grated fresh ginger and sambal oelek chili paste. Let sit for 1 hour before serving.

Makes: 1/2 cup

From: The Chicago Tribune

This story was originally published March 16, 2014 at 2:23 PM with the headline "Spicy fish cakes with zesty citrus sauce."