Trout Cakes with Asian Apple Slaw
1½ cups crumbs from Great Harvest Honey Whole Wheat bread
1 pound fresh rainbow trout
⅓ cup chopped green onions including tops
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice, divided
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon salt, divided
¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, divided
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
Sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon chopped jalapeño pepper
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon fish sauce
¾ tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
1 cup canned coconut milk
Lime slices and Thai basil for garnish
Slice and lightly toast several pieces of bread. Place in food processor and pulse to make 1½ cups crumbs.
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly sprinkle the trout with salt and pepper, wrap in foil and bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven, set aside to cool. By flaking with a fork, separate edible meat from carcass and skin and put meat into a medium mixing bowl (pick out any remaining bones). Add bread crumbs to the flaked fish along with the green onions, garlic, lime juice, egg, flour, salt, pepper, oil and hoisin sauce. With a rubber spatula, fold until well combined. Form mixture into 3-inch rounds about ¾-inch thick.
Add a layer of vegetable oil to 12 inch skillet over medium heat. Cook cakes until browned, flip, about 3½ to 4 minutes per side.
For the sauce: Place vegetable oil in a small sauce pan, over medium heat, add jalapeño pepper, cook 1 to 2 minutes to soften, add garlic. Before the garlic browns add fish sauce, after 40 seconds add oyster sauce and chili sauce, stir and simmer on low heat for 2 minutes. Add coconut milk, stir, simmer for 2 minutes more and turn off heat. This sauce has a medium heat level. Adjust jalapeño pepper to taste.
To serve: Spoon sauce on individual plates; place a fish cake on pool of sauce, drizzle thin stripes of hoisin sauce over fish cakes. Spoon slaw next to fish cake and garnish with lime slices and Thai basil.
Serves four.
David Rench, Spring Grove