Thai Inspired Fish / Crab Cakes

Tropical Fish Cakes with Avocado/Papaya relish.


Inspired by my love of Thai food and locally grown ingredients from my home town of Miami, these cakes are a combination of fish and crab cakes, served with a spicy tropical relish of avocado and papaya.

Fish-crab Cakes
Make 8 cakes.
2- 6 ounce cans of crab meat or 1/2 lb fresh crab meat picked over for shells.
1/2 lb mild white, Atlantic fish such as Mahi Mahi or Snapper
3/4 tsp Thai style red curry paste
3 Tbsp light mayonnaise
1/2 cup unseasoned fresh bread crumbs
1 egg + 1 egg white beaten together
1 tbsp chopped kaffir lime leaves (available jarred in speciality shops) or 1/4 tsp grated lime zest.
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground preferred
1 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
1 clove garlic
1/2 medium sized red onion, cut into small dice
1/2 red bell pepper cut into a small dice

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Sprinkle half the salt and pepper over the fish fillets and cook in a non stick skillet in 1 tsp of olive oil. Depending on the thickness of the filets, limit cooking time to 3-4 minutes per side. Do not overcook. Put cooked fish filets in a large mixing bowl and set aside. Saute ginger, garlic, onion and red bell pepper in remaining oil until soft. Add to fish. Drain crab mixture (if using canned) until fairly dry, squeezing out the excess moisture. Add crab to fish and mix well, leaving a few chucks of fish and crab.

Mix red curry paste, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, lime leaves or zest, and mix until well combined. Add to fish and crab mixture, along with bread crumbs and eggs. Mix throughly and form into patties a little smaller than an average hamburger. You should have eight cakes total. Cover and refrigerate while you make the relish. Pan fry the cakes on medium heat in olive oil until golden using a non stick pan. Fry in two batches, using 1 Tbsp of olive oil for each batch. Serve over bed of shreded iceburg lettuce with the Avocado relish on the side.

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Avocado/Papaya Relish
1/2 head of iceburg lettuce, shreded
1 Haas avocado or 1/2 Florida (large variety) avocado
1 cup papaya cut into small dice
1 minced clove of garlic
1 tsp minced ginger

Dressing:
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 Tbsp Thai sweet chilli sauce
1 Tbsp Asian Fish sauce
1 Lime, juiced
2 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
Pinch of Salt
1/2 tsp or more of Sambal chilli paste (Optional)
Make dressing: In a medium size bowl mix together the chopped cilantro, Thai sweet chilli sauce, fish sauce, lime juice, rice vinegar, and salt.  Add Sambal if you like it really spicy and hot. Set aside.

Add the papaya and avocado to the remaining dressing. Mix to cover with dressing. Refrigerate until searving time.

To serve: Arrange fish cakes on top of shredded lettuce Serve with Avocado-Papaya relish on the side. A side dish of baked or roasted sweet potatoes make a great accompaniment.