Spicy Salmon Patties

I like to buy whole salmon and fillet them myself because I can actually judge how fresh the fish is and it is much more economical. There is still a lot of meat that is left on the bones after I’m done filleting, so I scrape the meat off and make delicious salmon cakes out of them. You can still follow this recipe by using salmon steaks also.

INGREDIENTS:

300gm salmon meat –lightly chopped with the back of the knife

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

2 pieces kaffir lime leaves – finely shredded

6 pieces mint leaves – finely chopped

1 teaspoon ginger – finely chopped

1 shallot – finely chopped

1 egg – white only

freshly ground black pepper

salt to taste.

1/4 cup bread crumbs for coating the salmon patties.

 

METHOD:

1). Place all ingredients into a bowl and stir until everything is evenly mixed and combined.

2). Shape the mixture into individual salmon patties 2” wide and 1/3” thick.

3). Coat patties with a thin layer of bread crumbs.

4). Heat a thin layer of oil in the pan and fry the patties over medium heat until they are firm to touch and golden brown on both sides.

5). Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.

Serve with a squeeze of lime juice or my favourite: Tabasco Sauce.

Tom Yum Soup Base

This recipe is the soup base for any type of Tom Yum. You can add shrimp, chicken or any type of seafood. It can also be used as the broth for steamboat. The best part is keep the broth and whatever leftovers you may have after the steamboat, add any noodles of your choice and you have another satisfying meal.

INGREDIENTS:

8 cups water

4 tablespoons nam pla (Thai fish sauce)

3 inches galangal – cut into 1/4 inch slices

3 stalks lemongrass – lightly crushed

4 bird’s eye chili – lightly crushed

2 limes – juiced

3 pieces kaffir lime leaves – lightly bruised

3 pieces coriander root – lightly crushed (keep leaves for garnishing)

2 shallots – sliced thinly

2 tablespoon Mae Pranom Thai Chili paste

METHOD:

1). Bring water (or stock) to a boil.

2). Add nam pla, galangal, lemongrass, chili, shallots and coriander root. Simmer for 20 minutes.

3). Add kaffir lime leaves and lime juice, and Mae Pranom Thai Chili Paste.

4). This soup is ready to be used as steamboat broth or Tom Yum soup.

Note: Mae Pranom Chili Paste. Available at most Asian grocery stores. We need this paste for its sticky sweetness, dried shrimp flavour and fragrant chili oil.

Spicy Grilled Fish (Ikan Bakar)

Ikan Bakar is a popular Malaysian street food. The vendors put on a great show to impress you but it’s actually really simple to cook at home. You can get the nice charred flavour and look with the help of the humble toaster oven and worchestershire  sauce. This recipe work well on most kinds of fish especially the white flaky ones. I like flounders the most.

Ingredients:
1). 700g (1 1/2lbs) fish (or any size that can fit into the toaster oven)
2). 3 tablespoon worchestershire sauce
3). 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
4). 3 teaspoon cornflour
5). pinch of salt and pepper

Method:
1). Combine turmeric powder, cornflour, salt and pepper in a dry bowl.
2). Dry fish with paper towels and cut 2-3 deep slits on both sides of the fish.
3). Rub worchestershire sauce all over the fish.
4). Dry hands and coat fish (including the slits) with the spice rub.
5). Heat 2 tablespoons on oil in a frying pan or wok. Brown one side of the  fish then turn it over and brown other side.
7). Transfer the fish on to the toaster oven tray lined with lightly greased aluminium foil.
8). Set oven to “toast” and grill fish for 5 minutes on each side.

The fish will turn out charred on the outside but moist and flaky on the inside. Squeeze some lime juice on top and it’s ready to be served!