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Originally published in Feb 2009, updated with new photos.
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I love Thai fish cakes. I always order it whenever we dine out at Thai restaurants. I just love the deep-fried goodness and the appetizing Thai cucumber salad that goes with it.
Thai fish cakes are so good I always feel like I need two orders of them to satisfy my cravings.
Not anymore. My Thai fish cakes recipe is so good and authentic; the fish cakes taste exactly like what you get at Thai restaurants, if not better.
I can make a big batch and fry them up and enjoy them the whole day. The good news is even my little picky eater little G enjoys them.
Called Tod Mun Pla in Thai, Thai fish cakes is made with fresh fish paste, long beans, red curry paste and kaffir lime leaves.
Each bite of the fish cakes is bursting with briny flavors of the fish, the fragrance and nuance from the red curry paste, and the crunchiness of the long beans. They are absolutely delightful.
How Many Calories per Serving?
This recipe is only 75 calories per serving.
What Dishes to Serve with This Recipe?
For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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Thai Fish Cake (Tod Mun Pla)
Ingredients
- 8 oz. fish paste, I used store-bought frozen fish paste
- 1/2 egg (beaten)
- 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste (Mae Ploy brand or Maesri brand)
- 5 snake beans or long beans (thinly sliced)
- 5 kaffir lime leaves (cut into fine thin strips)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients above to form a smooth fish paste. Make sure the red curry paste is well blended with the rest of the ingredients.
- Heat up a pot of oil. Wet your hands and pick up the fish paste (about the size of a ping pong ball). Use your fingers and palms to flatten it and make it into a patty. Drop it into the cooking oil and fry till golden brown.
- Repeat the same for the rest of the fish paste. Alternatively, you can prepare all the fish paste first and then deep fry all of them at once.
- Serve the fish cakes hot with Thai cucumber salad.
Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Tell me the sodium content on the nutrition label is wrong.
It probably is. I used a nutrition generator and it’s what it gives me.
Hi I tried to make this I bought white fish and minced it up added the rest of the ingredients (fish cakes) , when it came to frying them it just ended up like mashed up slop , so added more egg and turned it into a fishy omelette, what did I do wrong
The problem is your fish paste. I bought a ready-made fish paste. If you bought white fish, you need to blend and chop it up with salt until it forms a very sticky paste.
Need a softer fish not flakey I prefer Spanish makeral
You can use any fish you like.
It is best to use the following white fish: Ling, Tilapia, Snapper, Barramundi, Silver Dory, John Dory, Basa, Hokki, Perch, Flathead, Monkfish
Avoid:
super lean fish (swordfish, tuna)
delicate fish (flounder, Dover sole)
small whole fish like sardines or mackerel
info courtesy of another site: https://www.recipetineats.com/thai-fish-cakes-2/?fbclid=IwAR3L46WV8z7HTHfFXvWdl18Iu4IQmFMXPWOJHz0UyL8LkAbS9ddH8BqHlVU
Also, if possible, try and blend the fish meat first, pound a wee bit with some water mixed with salt… just dip the pestle in the solution and pound the mix in the mortar.. after a few pound, you will see your mix sorta firms up.. ;)
I am not sure if this method will work AFTER you blended the whole mix (minus salt) and do this with the salted solution.. Can give it a try?
In Chinese cooking, that is how we firm up the meat for fishball making.
Tried these, quite surprised that you didn’t need actual fish in the recipe. They smelt and looked disgusting and they went straight in the bin! Good job I made an amazing jungle curry as a main. Yuk!!!!!
What do you mean? Were you able to get the fish paste? You wouldn’t even taste the fish if it’s done right.
Yummy and easy to make!