Economy of scales (+recipes)

Thai fish cakes make a great snack, especially if eaten straight after cooking. Photo / Ian Jones

My introduction to fishcakes is a rather odd story. While I was a kitchen porter in a Wellington hotel it hired a Hungarian chef named Ivan, reported to be an East European Michelin star hero.

At the time, the Russian cruise liner Mikhail Lermontov sank in the Marlborough Sounds carrying 740 passengers, and our hotel was asked to host the ship's stewards.

Our Japanese head chef at the time hadn't a clue how to cook Russian food and asked Ivan to rescue the situation. He proceeded to make borscht soup so hot the Russians' lips were on fire, and a thick goulash that could have been used to paste up wallpaper.

But Ivan's secret weapon was his legendary fishcakes; that is, the slurry of egg and breadcrumbs kept back from crumbing 20kg of fish goujons for a buffet. This glug was seasoned with paprika, formed into patties and fried on a large top grill until crisp.

The taste test came when our sous chef was asked to try one - which he did, leaving the uncooked centre hanging from his bristly moustache. At that point I decided that, in comparison, the odd submerged fish scale found in my Nana's potato fishcakes was not so bad after all.

Fishcakes originated from the need to make good use of fish trimmings and left over boiled or mashed potatoes. There are many and varied ways of making them around the world.

To the English, the art of making a perfect fishcake requires the fish to be very moist and not overcooked. The moisture in the fish is then absorbed by the potato. Leftover risotto is also great as a binder for fishcakes.

To add little gooey moments to a fishcake, try dicing in havarti or feta cheese, or, to add a hint of tang, fold in lemon zest or finely minced pickled onion.

Japanese cuisine features some stunning fishcakes such as kamaboko, a fine fish paste formed in a cylinder shape, steamed, then fried. You can get creative by moulding the fishcake mixture on to bamboo skewers or disposable chopsticks, frying them until just cooked, removing the skewer and filling the hole with wasabi, soy and miso sauce.

The Japanese hanpen fishcake offers the most amazing textural experience. The pureed fish is mixed with grated mountain yam and whipped to add air bubbles. The mixture is placed into a mould and simmered, resulting in a soft meringue.

Then there is tod mun plaa, the Thai fishcake, which is a fantastic snack served with a dipping sauce made from rice or coconut vinegar, lime juice, chopped chillies, coriander, sugar and Thai fish sauce. These are best eaten immediately after frying as they can toughen up on cooling. The green flecks often found in Thai fishcakes is not green chilli as many think, but rather finely sliced snake or long beans, found in Asian grocers.

Give these fishcake recipes a whirl.