Thai style fish cakes with beans recipe

Use your seasonal green beans in these delicious fish cakes.

Thai fish cakes are surprisingly simple to make. The texture is very similar to Chinese fish balls/cakes - bouncy. What it boils down to is picking the right fish to make them and my choice is basa fillets. You can try other white fish fillets but I find basa is the one fish that results in the desired firm and springy texture.

If using frozen fish, defrost in the fridge overnight. For best results when frying, you'll also need to pat dry the thawed fish with a paper towel to remove any excess liquid.

Using basa fillets will result in the desired firm and springy texture required for fish cakes.

Fresh Thai lime leaves are difficult to find in the UK - so opt for frozen rather than dried (these can be found in most Chinese supermarkets). Once thawed, the citrusy fragrance and flavour is pretty close to the fresh leaves.

Pick young green beans while they are fine and thin for this recipe and slice them thinly so they cook quickly.

Ingredients

400g Basa fillets

50g green beans, finely chopped

3 Thai lime leaves, spine removed and sliced finely

1 tbsp Thai red or green curry paste

2 tsp fish sauce

1 tsp sugar

Sunflower oil

Sweet chilli sauce

Method

1. Pat dry fish fillets to remove excess liquid. Dice the fish into cubes and place into food processor with curry paste, fish sauce and sugar.

2. Combine the processed fish with beans and lime leaves

3. Take 2 tablespoons of fish mixture, and using your hands, shape them into patties.

4. Heat 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoon of oil in frying pan over medium high heat.  Fry the fish patties in batches. Cook for 3-4 minutes, then turn over and cook until both sides are golden brown. Serve with sweet chilli sauce.