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Thai Fish Cakes (Tod Mun Pla) served on a plate with lime slices

Tod Mun Pla ทอดมันปลา Thai Fish Cakes

Susie Thompson
Walk past any Thai street food stall and you will likely spot a tray of these golden, slightly springy, impossibly fragrant little cakes sitting in a pool of warm oil, waiting. Tod Mun Pla is one of Thailand's most iconic and beloved street foods, a fish paste seasoned with red curry paste and kaffir lime leaves, shaped by hand into round patties and fried until the outside is deeply golden and crisp and the inside stays bouncy, chewy, and packed with flavor. Served with a sweet cucumber relish that is cool and tangy against all that richness, this is the kind of appetizer that empties the plate before you can sit down
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Appetizer, Snack, Street food,
Cuisine Thai, Thai/Central
Servings 4 servings
Calories 310 kcal

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 paste texture. Process the fish until it forms a smooth, slightly sticky paste that holds together when pressed. Underprocessed fish will fall apart in the oil. Overprocessed fish turns tough and rubbery when fried. The sweet spot is a paste that is smooth but still has just a little texture. Chill the paste for 15 minutes before shaping if it feels too soft to handle.
  • Kaffir lime leaves are essential. Sliced paper thin, these are not a garnish. They are a primary flavor in Tod Mun Pla and without them the cakes taste flat and generic. Remove the tough center stem, stack the leaves, roll into a tight cigar, and slice as thinly as you possibly can. Almost translucent is what you are aiming for.
  • The bounce test. Authentic Thai fish cakes have a distinctive springy, bouncy texture inside. This comes from working the paste thoroughly in the food processor, which develops the proteins in the fish. If your cakes are dense and heavy rather than bouncy and light, the paste needs more processing time.
  • Wet hands for shaping. Keep a bowl of cold water next to your work surface and wet your hands before shaping each patty. The paste is sticky and wet hands make shaping clean, quick, and easy.
  • Oil temperature matters. Keep the oil at 350°F. Too cool and the cakes absorb oil and turn greasy. Too hot and the outside browns before the inside is cooked through. A thermometer takes all the guesswork out.
  • The cucumber relish. This sweet, tangy, crunchy relish is not optional. It is half the dish. The cool acidity of the vinegar and cucumber cuts right through the richness of the fried fish and the combination is one of the great flavor pairings in Thai cooking. Make it first so it has time to sit and the flavors meld.

Nutrition

Calories: 310kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 26gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 95mgSodium: 680mgPotassium: 520mgFiber: 1gSugar: 6g
Keyword Thai Fish Cake, tod mun pla, fried fish cakes Thailand, Thai street food appetizer, red curry fish cakes, authentic Thai, gluten free, dairy free
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