Spicy Crab and Prawn Fishcakes with Sweetcorn, Coriander and a Thai style Dipping Sauce

Spicy Crab and Prawn Fishcakes with Sweetcorn, Coriander and a Thai-style Dipping Sauce. Everyone who cooks has a list of their personal favourite dishes. They can be their own creations or someone else’s recipe. They can be terribly simple or frighteningly complex. As a chef, you develop a list of go-to recipes that work every time. They have one common denominator. Simply, they are incredible to eat for family, friends or paying guests. Thai Spiced Crab and Prawn Fishcakes would get an entry near the top of my list.

Now I know living on an island spoils you with the ability to get hold of great ingredients like fresh crab every day. I have really special memories of dressed crab on family holidays as a final day treat. However, it is getting very expensive. The great thing about this recipe is that you still get the taste, but there are lots of other ingredients. You can always replace the crab with the same weight of white fish. The result will still be delicious.

Why I love Thai Food

Thai cuisine uses the freshest of ingredients, cooked with a wealth of flavours. The country is roughly split into four. For instance, in the Northeast, the dishes are salty and spicy, while in the South, the dishes are often seafood-based and flavoured with turmeric. Common Thai ingredients include garlic, fiery Birds Eye chillies, lemongrass, Thai basil, coconut milk, and fish sauce. A key skill in Thai cuisine is balancing flavours, such as combining the sweetness of Palm sugar with the acidity of Tamarind paste. Thai food is often cooked quickly by flash frying in a wok or steaming.

If you like this Thai recipe, why not try some more of my Thai ideas? A classic Seafood Tom Yam soup infused with chilli, a rich, aromatic Massaman Beef Curry with a blend of Thai and Eastern spices and a creamy coconut-flavoured Thai Green Chicken Curry.

What to drink with Thai-style Fishcakes?

Spicy Thai-style fishcakes need something to refresh the palate and pair with the chilli heat, try a dry New Zealand Riesling wine or the complementary coriander and citrus zesty flavours of some Continental Wheat beers.

My Spicy Crab and Prawn Fishcakes

I love the layers of flavours in Thai cooking, and while this dish is only my interpretation, I hope it has a little of the depth, spice, and variety with the typical hot, sweet and sour tastes. In this recipe, I cheated by using preserved ginger. I always keep a jar of this in the fridge. It keeps better than the fresh root and is nearly as good. You can grate directly into any recipe, and it does not require cooking. The Thai-style dipping sauce can be made a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator, but is best served at room temperature.

Christian Gott

Spicy Crab and Prawn Fishcakes with Sweetcorn, Coriander and a Thai style Dipping Sauce    

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Servings: 4 people

Course: Appetiser, Appetizer, Lunch

Cuisine: Asian, Thai

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

For the fishcakes

• 150 gr firm White Fish such such as Cod, Haddock or Coley
• 100 gr freshly picked White Crab Meat
• 50 gr fresh peeled Prawns roughly chopped
• 50 gr cooked Sweetcorn Nibs
• 1 medium sized fresh, free range Egg
• 2 stems Lemon Grass peeled and finely chopped
• 2 small hot Chilli Peppers, finely diced
• 1 piece of Preserved Ginger finely grated
• 1 tablespoon of Fish Sauce
• 2 fresh Limes zest and juice
• ½ teaspoon ground Coriander
• ¼ teaspoon Sea Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper
• 1 bunch fresh Coriander finely chopped
• A large knob of Butter and Vegetable oil for frying

For the dipping sauce

• 1 small Carrot peeled and very finely diced
• 1 Banana Shallot peeled and very finely diced
• 1 stick Celery very finely diced
• 1 sweet Red Pepper very finely diced
• 2 small hot Chilli peppers finely diced
• 2 stems Lemon Grass finely chopped
• 2 cloves Garlic peeled and crushed to a pulp
• 1 piece Preserved Ginger finely grated
• 3 tablespoons Fish Sauce
• 2 tablespoons Palm Sugar or soft Brown Sugar
• 2 fresh Limes zest and juice
• 1 tablespoon of fresh Coriander finely chopped
• freshly boiled Water

Equipment

• 1 Non-stick Frying Pan

Method

 

For the dipping sauce

1. Place all of the ingredients, excluding the coriander, in a glass bowl and just cover with boiling water. Stir and allow to cool. When completely cooled down stir in the coriander.
2. Adding the coriander whilst hot can discolour the chopped leaves, allowing the sauce to cool will ensure an appealing fresh green colour. The temperature of the boiling water is sufficient to soften but not cook the vegetables leaving a slight crunch.

For the fishcakes

1. Blitz the fish in a food processor for two minutes on the pulse setting. You do not want to let the motor get hot as it will start to cook the fish.
2. For a professional finish, you can pass the fish through a fine sieve to remove any unprocessed lumps. Add the egg, fish sauce, lime zest and juice and process for a further minute.
3. Transfer to a bowl and work in the remaining ingredients. Do not worry if the mixture seems quite loose as it will produce a moist crab cake.
4. Heat a thin coating of oil in a heavy bottomed non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat add the butter and using an ice cream scoop drop in four or five balls of the crab mix.
5. Flatten gently with a spatula and cook for five to six minutes before very carefully turning and cooking for a few more minutes.
6. When the crab cakes are golden brown on both sides and firm to the touch but not solid, remove on to kitchen paper and keep warm. Wipe out the pan and repeat the process to use up the crab mixture.
7. Serve with the dipping sauce and lime wedges.

Notes

Allergens in this recipe are;

 

          

Please see the Allergens Page

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