Thai Fish Cakes
These Thai Fish Cakes are packed with white flaky fish, crunchy green beans and bold Thai flavours and served alongside a zingy dipping sauce. They take less than 30 minutes to make and are great served as an appetizer or alongside a salad for a light meal.
What Are Thai Fish Cakes
Thai fish cakes, known as “Tod Mun Pla,” are a popular and flavorful Thai appetizer or classic thai street food. They are made by blending minced white fish with typical thai ingredients including red curry paste, lime leaves, fish sauce, and various herbs. Traditionally Thai Fish Cakes are deep fried in vegetable oil and served with a sweet and spicy dipping sauce.
Why You Will Love These Thai Fish Cakes
- These delicious Thai Fish Cakes are just like the ones I used to get at my favourite neighbourhood Thai restaurant. They are crispy on the outside and soft in the middle with crunchy flecks of green beans in each bite.
- If you are a fan of the tangy, sweet, spicy and salty flavours of thai cuisine, you will love these fish cakes.
- These are a great appetizer to serve to a group, or make them into a meal served with a salad (like “Faux” Green Papaya Salad).
- They take less than 30 minutes to make start to finish, so easy!
- They are even kid friendly! My toddler loves these little fish cakes although I skip serving them with the dipping sauce and instead give them to her with sweet chilli sauce
- These thai fish cakes are Paleo, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Grain Free and Specific Carbohydrate Diet Legal.
What You Need To Make These Thai Fish Cakes
- White Fish: really any flaky white dish works for these,
- Egg yolks: yolks are used to bind the fish cakes and help to ensure they hold together when cooking.
- Thai Curry Paste: this is where a lot if the flavour comes from in these fish cakes. You can get Thai thai red curry paste at most grocery stores or on Amazon. Alternatively there are recipes you can find online like this for a simple homemade red thai curry paste.
- Green Beans: Small pieces of raw green beans add a nice crunch of texture to the fish cakes.
- Cilantro: Chopped cilantro adds a nice fresh flavour to the fish cakes. If you do not like the taste of cilantro, it can be substituted for finely chopped spring onions/green onion
- Lime Zest
What Type Of White Fish Is Best
The best type of fish for this Thai fish cakes recipe is one that has a firm texture and mild flavor, allowing it to absorb the aromatic herbs and spices used in the dish. It’s essential to use boneless and skinless white fish fillets to make the preparation process easier. While using the freshest fish may provide a slightly better flavour, feel free to use frozen and thawed fish fillets. Common types of fish used to make asian fish cakes include:
- Cod: Cod has a mild flavor that pairs well with the bold and aromatic Thai seasonings.
- Haddock: Similar to cod, haddock has a mild flavor and a firm texture, making it suitable for fish cakes.
- Tilapia: Tilapia is a versatile and mild-flavored fish that can be used for a more budget-friendly option.
- Sea bass: Sea bass offers a mild and slightly sweet flavor
- Halibut: known for its dense and meaty texture, providing a substantial bite in the fish cakes.
How To Make These Thai Fish Cakes
- In a food processor combine the raw fish fillets, egg yolk and curry paste and blend on medium speed for a few minutes until it forms a paste consistency.
- Transfer the fish paste mixture to a mixing bowl and stir in the green beans, cilantro and lime zest.
- Using your hands form the batter into small balls before pressing them down into the palm of your hand to flatten them into a patty shape. I recommend keeping a small bowl of cold water nearby to dunk your hands in between rolling each ball to prevent the batter from sticking.
- Heat enough oil to coat the bottom of a frying pan on medium heat and once the oil is hot add the fish cakes and cook for 3 minutes per side until golden brown in color.
You can find more detailed step by step instructions in the recipe card below.
What’s In The Dipping Sauce?
The dipping sauce is not to be skipped! It’s loaded with tangy, fresh, sweet and salty flavors and is the perfect accompaniment to serve alongside the thai style fish cakes. For the sauce you need the following ingredients:
- Red Thai Chilies: Feel free to add more or less depending on your tolerance for spice.
- Fish Sauce: fish sauce is one of my favourite secret ingredients in thai cooking. I love the salty taste it adds to dishes.
- White Wine Vinegar: alternatively rice wine vinegar also works for this sauce.
- Cilantro and Mint: The herbs add a wonderful fresh and light flavor to the dip.
- Honey: Helps to balance out the acidity from the vinegar and lime juice
- Garlic: Be sure to use fresh garlic rather than jarred garlic which doesn’t have as strong a flavour.
- Lime Zest: this is used in place of kaffir lime leaves which can be hard to find.
What About Leftovers?
Leftover fish cakes can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat I recommend placing them in a skillet with a little oil to crisp them back up. Alternatively they can also be reheated in an airfryer on 375 degrees for 4-5 minutes until warmed through.
Other Thai Inspired Recipes from the site:
- Thai Curry Noodle Salad
- Thai Butternut Squash Soup
- “Faux” Green Papaya Salad
- Thai Beef Salad
- Thai Chicken Larb Salad (Larb Gai)
If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!
Thai Fish Cakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 15 ounces white fish (can be a combination of sea bass, cod, halibut etc)
- 2 egg yolks
- 3 tbsp thai red curry paste
- 1/3 cup finely chopped raw green beans
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
- 1 tsp grated lime zest
- 1 1/2 tbsp avocado oil or olive oil
Dipping Sauce
- 1/2 red Thai chili finely chopped
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1/2 tbsp chopped cilantro
- 1/2 tbsp chopped mint
- 1/2 tbsp honey
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1 tsp lime juice
Instructions
- In a food processor combine the fish, egg yolk and curry paste and blend for 4 minutes it becomes paste consistency.
- Transfer the blended fish to a bowl and stir in the chopped green beans, cilantro and lime zest.
- Heat the oil in a large non stick skillet on medium high heat. Form the mixture into 1 1/2 tbsp sized balls, place them in the skillet and then flatten the balls gently with your fingers into a patty shape.
- Working in batches, cook the fish cakes for 3 minutes per side until golden and crispy on both sides and then transfer to a plate while you cook the remaining fish cakes.
- In a bowl combine the dipping sauce ingredients and stir until well combine.
- Serve the fish cakes with dipping sauce on the side for dipping.
Nutrition
Easy to make and so tasty! I wasn’t sure what to expect but they were really delicious.
Absolutely LOVE these! So tasty! I will definitely make again.
Love this recipe! They are absolutely delicious and my whole family loved them.
Just made these and they were fantastic! I will be making them again soon!
They far exceeded my expectations! Really really delicious. Will definitely make them again
This was wonderful – my husband and I loved it! Honestly, he can’t stop talking about it. We didn’t have any fresh herbs, but we sprinkled some chopped fennel fronds on top after baking. Thanks for a great recipe!
The fish cakes were EXCELLENT!! and they came together so fast! Will definitely be on rotation for dinner!! So easy, so delicious!
I’m so happy to hear that you liked them!!
We loved this recipe! Made a few tweaks in the cooking method by cooking the fish beforehand and chopping instead of using food processor (it’s just a preference, NOTHING wrong with your method, though), but the flavors were FANTASTIC. I am just loving all the recipes i’ve tried from your website so far 🙂
Stupid question…is the fish cooked before you make it into fish cakes?
Not stupid at all! It’s added into the food processor raw 🙂