Thai Fish Cakes (Tod Man Pla) with cucumber dipping sauce and broccolini pad thai

Thai Fish Cakes

3 cans of wild-caught mackerel in olive oil with lemon

½ cup hemp hearts

1 egg yolk

3 tablespoons red curry paste, store bought or see recipe below

½ cup green beans, finely sliced

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons fresh Thai or Holy basil leaves, finely chopped (or substitute regular basil)

2 kaffir lime leaves, fresh or soak dried for 10 minutes in hot water, finely chopped

2 tablespoons coconut oil

Put all ingredients except coconut oil into a large bowl. Mash together using the back of a fork or use your hands to mix well. Form into balls, using about 2 tablespoons of the mixture and flatten slightly for each rounded patty. Heat coconut oil in a skillet at medium high. Fry the cakes until golden brown, flipping once, about 3 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels. Serves four.

For the red curry paste:

½ teaspoon coriander seed

½ teaspoon peppercorns

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 medium red bell pepper, stems and seeds removed

3 medium red chilies, stems and seeds removed

2 stalks of lemon grass, trimmed and roughly chopped

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated with a zester

1 tablespoon fish sauce

3 cloves of garlic, pressed

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ cup roughly chopped shallots

1 tablespoon red yuzu kosho

zest and juice from 1 lime

1 tablespoon maple syrup

Toast the coriander seed and peppercorns in a small skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes or until fragrant. Crush with mortar and pestle, then add to small bowl of food processor with all other ingredients. Process until smooth. Store extra in a jar in the fridge.

Cucumber Dipping Sauce

¼ cup rice vinegar

¼ cup water

¼ cup sugar

1 medium cucumber, peeled and seeded and finely chopped

1 tablespoon yuzu sauce or zest and juice from 1 lime

1 clove of garlic, pressed

1 medium shallot, finely chopped

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated with zester

1 medium cucumber, peeled and seeded, finely chopped

Heat vinegar, water and sugar in a small saucepan until it just starts to boil. Once cool, add remaining ingredients.

Broccolini Pad Thai

½ pound whole wheat spaghetti

1 pound broccolini, trimmed and sliced lengthwise, retaining tender stalks and leaves

2 eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons fish sauce

2 teaspoons red yuzu kosho, or juice and zest from 1 lime

2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated with zester

2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce

2 cloves of garlic, pressed

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

3 tablespoons coconut aminos or light soy sauce

4 tablespoons hemp hearts

4 tablespoons chopped raw pecans

4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

4 tablespoons scallions, trimmed and sliced

Cook spaghetti in a large pot of salted boiling water for 6 minutes. Drain and rinse in cool water. Set aside.

Steam broccolini, including stalks and leaves, for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Whisk together fish sauce, yuzu, ginger, chili sauce, garlic, sesame oil and coconut aminos to form a sauce.

Heat a wok on high heat. Add the sauce first. As it sizzles and bubbles, add the cooked spaghetti. Toss with tongs to coat the noodles in the sauce. Add the beaten eggs, and keep tossing for about 1 minute while the egg cooks. Finally, add the broccolini and keep tossing and cooking for another minute, until heated through.

Top with hemp hearts, pecans, cilantro and scallions.

Serves four

Leslie Meredith

Recipes are unedited