Description
Delicious Thai prawn cakes filled with chunky prawns, fried and dipped into tangy sweet peanut and lime dipping sauce.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 250g firm white fish fillet, roughly chop
- 250g prawn meat, chop into small chunks
- 1 tsp rice flour
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) red curry paste (home-made or store-bought)
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) fish sauce
- 1 egg
- 1 spring onion, green part only, sliced finely
- 5 fresh double kaffir lime leaves, centre spine removed and finely chopped
- Vegetable oil
Red Curry Paste
- 7 pcs dried red chillies, soaked until soft and roughly chopped
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/4 tsp mace (*see note)
- 1 red shallot, peeled & roughly chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled & roughly chopped
- 1 tsp white peppercorn
- 1 stalk lemongrass, white part only, finely sliced
- 1/2 tbsp galangal, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp lime zest
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp shrimp paste, roasted
Peanut and Lime Dipping Sauce
- 1/2 cup (100 g) caster sugar
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) water
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) lime juice
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) fish sauce
- 2 red chillies, thinly sliced, adjust to taste
- 1/2 lebanese cucumber, finely diced
- 2 tbsp (15 g) unsalted peanuts, roasted & roughly crushed
Instructions
- Red curry paste can be made up to a few days in advance. To make the paste – lightly toast the coriander seeds, cumin and mace in a fry pan until aromatic, about 2-3 mins. Grind them together with white peppercorns in a mortar with a pestle. Add the remaining ingredients and gently lb until you get a smooth paste. Or, blend them in a blender. Let it cool and keep in an airtight jar for up to a week.
- To make the prawn cakes – mix the red curry paste, chopped fish fillets, fish sauce, rice flour and egg in the food processor and gently blend into a rough paste. You may still see some bits of unprocessed fish but that’s ok. Transfer the fish paste into a clean bowl and mix in the prawn chunks, chopped spring onions and kaffir lime leaves. Mix well with a wooden spoon.
- With wet hands, grab a handful of paste to form into bite-size patties and then flatten to about 1 cm thickness, while adjusting the size according to your preference.
- Heat sufficient vegetable oil in a wok over medium heat. Once the oil is hot enough, deep-fry the prawn patties by batches until golden and cooked through. Drain on paper towel.
- For the dipping sauce – make the sugar syrup by combining sugar and water in a saucepan to simmer until sugar is dissolved. Cool the syrup and then stir in the remaining ingredients. Taste and adjust accordingly. Serve with prawn cakes.
Notes
- Mace is actually the fruit pulp from nutmeg fruit.
- It’s an ingredient that is used in home made curry pastes and can be found at Asian Grocers or Indian Grocers.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Cuisine: Thai
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 pieces
- Calories: 190