Thai no-fishcakes

We made Thai fishcakes vegan-style, using jackfruit instead of fish, so you can still enjoy the gorgeously subtle spiciness of fishcakes with the freshness of the dipping sauce.

Credit: HQ Non Fiction

• serves

  2

• prep

  25 minutes

• cook

  40 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2-3 medium potatoes (about 500 g)
• 3 spring onions
• 4 cm piece fresh ginger (about 15 g)
• 1 nori sheet, optional
• 400 g tin young green jackfruit in water
• 10 g fresh coriander
• 3 tsp (15 ml) olive oil
• 1 ½ tbsp (30 ml) vegan Thai red curry paste
• 1 tsp soy sauce, plus extra to taste
• salt and black pepper

Thai-tare sauce

• 1 lime
• 15 g fresh ginger
• 10 g fresh coriander leaves (reserved from the fishcakes)
• 1 tsp vegan Thai red curry paste
• 1 tsp soy sauce

To serve

• 1 lime
• ½ small fresh red chilli
• 100 g mixed salad

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 220°C. Line a baking tray.

2. First, prep the potatoes: Peel then cut them into 2.5cm chunks and put them in the large pan of cold salted water. Put the pan over a high heat, bring to the boil and cook for 8-12 minutes until tender. Drain the potatoes, tip into a large bowl and mash with a potato masher.

3. Trim and thinly slice the spring onions. Peel the ginger by scraping off the skin with a spoon, then grate. Snip the nori sheet (if using) with scissors into small pieces.

4. Drain the jackfruit, rinse under a cold tap and pat dry with a clean tea towel or kitchen paper. Pull the jackfruit into pieces with two forks, so it resembles flaked tuna. Separate the coriander leaves and stems and chop the stems.

5. Now, make the fishcakes. Put a frying pan over a medium heat and add the oil. Add the spring onion and ginger and saute for a couple of minutes, then add the jackfruit, coriander stems and nori (if using). Saute for a further 5 minutes, stirring often, then add the red curry paste and soy sauce. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.

6. When the jackfruit is lightly browned and tastes fantastic, add the mashed potato, mix well, and fry for another 5 minutes, until the potato has browned slightly. Remove from the heat, taste and season to perfection with salt, pepper and a splash more soy sauce.

7. Leave until cool enough to handle, then use your hands to form the mixture into 6 evenly sized patties. Place them on the lined baking tray, put in the oven and bake for 17-20 minutes until lightly browned.

8. While the fishcakes are baking, make the Thai-tare sauce. Halve the lime and squeeze the juice. Peel the ginger by scraping off the skin with a spoon, then grate. Finely chop the reserved coriander leaves. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix to form a paste. Add water if required, to get a dippable, quite loose consistency.

9. Cut the whole lime into wedges and chop the chilli. Serve the fishcakes with the sauce, a small mixed salad and lime wedges. Garnish with the chilli.

Recipe from BOSH! Healthy Vegan by Henry Firth and Ian Theasby (HQ Non-fiction, $35). 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.