Thai Fish Cakes

Thai fish cakes (Tod Mun Pla)

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Thai fish cake (Tod Mun Pla) is a popular Thai street snack and iconic Thai dish. As a huge fan of Thai food, Thai fish cakes definitely top my favourite Thai food list.

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And I am so glad that they are so easy to recreate in the kitchen, so I know I can cook them whenever the Thai food craving kicks in. Due to the Thai red curry paste used, these fish cakes are strikingly beautiful and flavourful after deep frying. It took me only about 30 minutes to make the fish cakes from scratch using fresh fish fillet – they are definitely easier to make than they look!

Thai fish cakes
The chilli dip that goes with the fish cakes are really easy to make as well. The diced cucumbers and chopped peanuts adds texture and crunch to the sauce, making them an excellent dipping sauce for the fish cakes.

Thai fish cakes (before deep frying)

Thai fish cakes (before deep frying)

Thai Fish Cakes Recipe

You may use instant fish paste sold at the supermarket as a short-cut for this recipe, though I personally prefer using fresh fish fillets for this recipe. If you do not have a blender (step 1), finely chop/mince the fish meat first before combining the fish paste ingredients in a bowl.

Ingredients:

  • 150 grams white-flesh fish meat
  • 2 tbsp Thai red curry paste
  • 1/2 egg beaten
  • 1 tbsp corn flour (corn starch)
  • 4 kaffir lime leaves finely snipped
  • 5 French beans ends trimmed and thinly sliced
  • vegetable oil for deep frying; enough to submerge the fish cakes

Dipping Sauce

  • 1 tsp Thai fish sauce
  • 2 tbsp Thai sweet chilli
  • 1 tbsp roasted peanuts pounded
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped cucumbers

Directions:

  1. In a blender, pulse together fish, curry paste, egg, corn flour and lime leaves until a smooth paste is formed. Add chopped French beans to fish paste and mix in evenly. Divide and shape fish paste to 8 round fish cakes.
  2. Heat oil in wok, deep fryer or pot to 180°C (356°F). Deep fry fish cakes in batches until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Drain excess oil on tempura paper before serving.
  3. Prepare dipping sauce by mixing fish sauce and Thai sweet chilli. Transfer to a dipping saucer and top with peanuts and cucumbers.