Thai Fish Cakes with Cucumber Relish

These little gems have always been my favourite Thai starter so I thought why not upsize them!  The quintessential balance of flavours....... hot, salty, sweet and sour that make Thai and other Asian cuisines so darn good are a stand out in this extremely easy, fresh and mouthwateringly delicious dish that were so good I made them again about 5 days later.  Now coming from a global weekly kitchen such as mine, that is saying something!

Serves 4

500gm of fresh and firm white fish fillets (I used snapper but ling or dory will do), chopped into chunks

3 tbs of red curry paste

1 egg

4 Kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded

2 tbs of fish sauce

1 tsp of castor sugar

1 large handful of green beans, finely sliced

Peanut oil for frying

For the Cucumber Relish:

2 large lebanese cucumbers, halved lengthways

2 red chillies, finely sliced (seeds removed if you don't want the heat)

1/2 a red onion, sliced finely top to bottom

2 kaffir lime leaves, stems removed and finely sliced

1/2 cup of coriander leaves, roughly chopped

1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar

2 tbs of soy sauce

1 tbs of fish sauce

1 tbs of castor sugar

Steamed jasmine rice to serve

To make the fish cakes place the fish, curry paste, egg, lime leaves, fish sauce and castor sugar in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to get the mixture going.  Turn the processor on fully and process the mixture until the ingredients are well combined and have formed a thick paste.  Transfer to a bowl and stir through the beans.  Be sure to clean your food processor and its attachments really well (with a skewer if it has hollow holes) as there may be a rather offensive smell a few days later emanating from your cupboard if you don't!  

Heat a wok or shallow pan and pour in enough oil to cover the base to about 1cm.  Wet a serving spoon and scoop up about a small handful of the mixture and place it in the hot oil.  The oil should bubble straight away, if not it is not hot enough.  Fry on each side until golden and crispy.  Repeat with remaining mixture and drain on an oven tray lined with paper towel and transfer to a moderate oven for approximately 10 minutes.

To make the relish grab a teaspoon and scrape the seeds out of the cucumber halves.  Slice the ends on the diagonal and discard.  Slice the rest of the cucumber on the diagonal so you have nice long strips.  Place in a bowl with the remaining ingredients and stir well to combine until the sugar dissolves.