Street food holds a special place in the lives of Thai diners. Street food is not an oddity housed in an Airstream trailer. Street food is a way of life - in some cities most residents do their primary dining from street vendors. Trying to capture street food in a place like Thailand is like fishing with a butterfly net.
Spicy fish cakes are a fairly common staple. They are served with lime wedges and occasionally small salads. Tod Man Pla is typically deep fried until lightly crispy. You'll sometimes see them as fish balls, but they are more common as a patty.
This recipe is made to be doubled, if you have the fish. This is the right size for me, but very easy to multiply for a party.
The real trick here is the red curry paste. If you decide to pull it out of a jar, its going to take no time at all to make these, but you'll lose some taste and color in the Tod Man. There are brands with more local flavor than what you'll find at Whole Foods, but its easy enough to make your own paste.
When you make the paste, you can decide how much you want to leave the vegetables whole. I use a hand processor so that I get a choppy, inconsistent paste.
Spicy Fish Cakes (Tod Man Pla)
Patty
1 lb fish (I pick what I can get - salmon works well but so does Tilapia)
1/4 cup Thai Red Curry Paste or fresh curry paste (see below)
1 tsp salt
1 egg
3/4 cup diced green beans
1 basil leave, diced
Directions
- Use a food processor to blend the fish, curry paste, salt and egg.
- Fold in the green beans and basil.
- Form into patties and fry in a vegetable oil over medium. It takes about 3 minutes per side
Thai Red Curry Paste
3 Shallots or heirloom red onions
1 in ginger or galangal
4 in lemongrass
1 Tbsp cilantro, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp kaffir limes leaves
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp fish sauce
2 fresh red chilis
Blend in food processor to the consistency you like.