Tod Mun Pla ทอดมันปลา Thai Fish Cakes
My mother and father loved this dish, and I came to love it too, though it took years to arrive where they already were. As a small child the fish itself was a bit much for me. The spices were fine, it was the fish that needed time. She mixed everything by hand until she could feel it was right, formed each cake, and fried them golden. The cucumber salad went alongside, always, without fail. She made it in Thailand and in Maryland, and the rule was always the same: the fish had to be fresh.It took years to fully appreciate everything in those little golden cakes. When I finally did, especially eating the fish cake and the cucumber relish together the way she always intended, I understood what my parents had loved from the beginning. Some dishes wait for you. This one waited patiently and rewarded me when I arrived.
Equipment
- Food processor
- wok or deep heavy skillet
- thermometer
- paper towels
- small saucepan for the relish
Ingredients
- 1 pound white fish fillets such as cod tilapia, or catfish, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons red curry paste
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 6 kaffir lime leaves very finely sliced (stems removed)
- 0.3 cup long beans or green beans thinly sliced into rounds
- 2 cups vegetable oil for deep frying
- 1 medium cucumber quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
- 3 shallots thinly sliced
- 3 fresh red chilies thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sugar for the relish
- 0.5 teaspoon salt for the relish
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons roasted peanuts roughly crushed, for the relish
- 4 fresh cilantro sprigs to garnish
Instructions
- Make the cucumber relish first: Make the relish first so it has time to develop flavor. In a small saucepan combine vinegar, sugar, salt, and water. Heat gently over low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves completely. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Once cool, pour over the sliced cucumber, shallots, and fresh chilies. Scatter crushed peanuts over the top. Set aside at room temperature while you make the fish cakes.
- Make the fish paste: Place the roughly chopped fish in a food processor and pulse until a smooth, slightly sticky paste forms. Add red curry paste, egg, fish sauce, and sugar. Process again until everything is fully combined and the paste is smooth, cohesive, and slightly elastic. It should hold together when you press a little between your fingers. Transfer to a bowl.
- Add the aromatics: Fold the finely sliced kaffir lime leaves and long bean rounds into the fish paste by hand. Mix gently but thoroughly until evenly distributed. If the paste feels very soft and hard to handle, cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes to firm it up.
- Shape the fish cakes: Wet your hands with cold water. Take a generous tablespoon of paste and shape it into a round patty about 2 inches wide and half an inch thick. Press firmly and evenly so the patty is compact and uniform. Repeat with the remaining paste. You should get about 12 patties.
- Fry the fish cakes: Heat oil in a wok or deep skillet to 350°F. Fry the fish cakes in batches of 4 to 5, never crowding the pan. Fry for about 3 minutes per side until deep golden and cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
- Serve: Arrange the fish cakes on a serving plate and garnish with fresh cilantro. Serve immediately alongside the cucumber relish. In Thailand these are eaten hot, straight off the oil, standing at the stall. That is still the best way.
Notes
The fish must be fresh. This is the instruction my mother held to and it is the right one. Fresh fish produces a sweet, clean paste that holds together and fries into something springy and golden. Fish that is less than fresh produces a paste with an odor that no amount of curry paste or kaffir lime can correct. Buy the fish the day you are making the cakes. Smell it before you buy it. It should smell of the sea, clean and faint. If it smells strongly of fish before it has been cooked, it is not fresh enough for this recipe.
Refrigerate the formed cakes before frying. Fifteen to twenty minutes in the refrigerator firms the mixture and means the cakes hold their shape when they hit the oil. A cake that goes into the oil without chilling will spread and lose its form before the exterior has had time to set. The refrigerating step is easy to skip when the oil is already hot. Do not skip it.
The kaffir lime leaves must be finely shredded. Remove the central stem from each leaf, fold the leaf lengthwise, and cut into the thinnest possible strips. A large piece of kaffir lime leaf in a fish cake is fibrous and unpleasant in the finished bite. Fine shreds integrate completely into the paste and are present as fragrance rather than texture in the finished cake. Take the extra minute.
The cucumber relish is not a garnish and not optional. It is the other half of the dish. The cool, slightly sweet, slightly sour relish against the warm, spiced fish cake is the combination that makes Thai fish cakes complete. My mother always put it alongside. Eat them together. The dish is different without it and less itself.
Nutrition
Calories: 310kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 26gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 95mgSodium: 680mgPotassium: 520mgFiber: 1gSugar: 6g
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