Sunday, February 15, 2009

Tod Mun pla or Thai fish cakes

Tod mun pla is something I inevitably order in a Thai restaurant which means it's something I want to learn how to prepare at home.

It's easy, delicious & I'm wondering why I hadn't done so earlier. It was a big hit with both X & The Girl. This will definitely be making a comeback. Perhaps as finger food for the next party.

I served them with wedges of lime & a simple dipping sauce of cut chillies & fish sauce.
They are usually made with snake beans or long beans but since these are out of season, I just left them out. I don't like coriander so left those out as well.


Tod mun pla or Thai fish cakes

makes about 16 pieces


500g firm white fish, remove skin & bones
2 Tbsps red curry paste
2 kaffir lime leaves (I left out)

2 spring onions, chopped coarsely (I used a small onion, sigh even spring onions are hard to find here)
1 Tbsp fish sauce

1 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp fresh coriander (I left out)
3 long beans, chopped finely
(I left out)
2 chilli padi, chopped finely (I left out cos I made them for The Girl)

yikes I just realised I left out about half the ingredients but that didn't seem to compromise the taste too much. I will have to make sure I add long beans the next time tho'

1. Cut fish into small pieces. Blend or process fish with curry paste, lime leaves, onion, fish sauce & juice until it becomes a smooth paste


2. Combine the fish paste with coriander, beans & chilli

3. Form patties with the fish paste (dip fingers in cold water when shaping to prevent mixture from sticking). If you have the time, you can put the shaped fish cakes into the fridge for an hour to firm them up before frying (I didn't do this & the fish cakes didn't fall apart)

4. Heat oil in pan or wok. Make sure it's smoking hot before you start frying. Deep fry in batches, until browned lightly

5 comments:

Tsu Lin + + said...

YUMMY! Thanks for sharing this recipe - I also take my liberty to leave out ingredients when I use some recipes! :D As for white fish, can I use boneless & skinless cod fish? I think can hor?

I LOVE coriander, tsskkk! It's so nice & smells great. I make sure I have a bunch of coriander in my fridge every week, it's great in every dish - hahahahha..

BTW : Yes, we are moving back to Melbourne mid of this year (the hubs is from there). I'm gonna miss my London life!

Sri said...

That looks yummy. I will have to give it a shot.
I'm not a fan of coriander or cilantro. I can only eat it in small amounts...like in a salsa.

Beau Lotus 涟 said...

Mmmm... reminded me that I've not made it in a long time and should do so soon!

petite fleur said...

tsu lin
Any firm white fish. I think I used cod too. I don't know what it is about coriander. Like Sri, I can take it in small amounts. But if I can avoid it, I will.

Good luck with your move !!

Sri
haha we belong to the anti-coriander group

Lotus
Speedy gonzales. I haven't even commented yet & you've already done it. Yours look really good.

Anonymous said...

Hey, just to let you all know. Add one egg to the recipe. Doing so will assist in the fish mixture to stick together better, thus not breaking apart when cooking. Also, this eliminates the need to put the mixture in the fridge to cool before cooking.