Fish cakes with cashew, sprout and coriander salad

Babiche Martens

Cashew nuts and sprouts make a fresh side-dish to complement the Thai flavours of these tasty fish cakes.

Ingredients

1	Spring onion
½	Green chillies
1 piece	Ginger, 2cm, peeled and finely chopped
300 g	Fish, such as gurnard or lemon fish (Main)
1 clove	Garlic
1 Tbsp	Mirin
¼ cup	Basil leaves, and coriander leaves, combined
2 tsp	Fish sauce
1 Tbsp	Coconut milk
1 ½ cups	Bean sprouts (Main)
2 tsp	Soy sauce
3 Tbsp	Cashew nuts, roasted and salted, roughly chopped (Main)
2 Tbsp	Vegetable oil
2 pinches	Freshly ground black pepper
2	Lemons
½ tsp	Sesame oil

Directions

1. In the bowl of a food processor, add the fish, onion, chilli, ginger, garlic, mirin and fish sauce. Process until a rough paste forms.
2. Add the fresh herbs, coconut milk and soy sauce then pulse until just combined.
3. In a heavy-based frying pan, pour in 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil.
4. When hot, drop in spoonfuls of the fish cake mix and cook for 2 minutes over a medium-hot heat or until brown, then turn over and continue.
5. Cook in batches, adding extra oil with each new batch. Drain on paper towels.
6. Combine the sprouts, cashews and sesame oil in a bowl.
7. Add coriander leaves then squeeze over the juice of one lemon, add a grind or two of pepper and combine with fingers.
8. Plate the cakes in a stack with a small pile of salad and a wedge of lemon.