Thai No-Fishcakes

Thai No-Fishcakes

These Thai No-Fishcakes are genuinely one of our proudest creations. We set out to nail that bouncy, flavour-packed fishcake you get from a great Thai restaurant, and honestly, we think we smashed it without a single bit of fish. The combo of fragrant lemongrass, zingy ginger, and punchy Thai paste running through a crispy-edged potato cake is just incredible. They're brilliant as a weekend dinner when you want something a bit special but not a massive faff. Make a batch tonight and we promise you'll be talking about them all week.

Cook: 60 min
Serves 3

Before You Start

  • Preheat oven to 200°C
  • Large baking tray lined with parchment paper
  • Large pan for boiling potatoes
  • Large bowl
  • Potato masher
  • Grater
  • Frying pan
  • Two forks (for shredding jackfruit)

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp plant-based Thai red curry paste
  • 1 tsp soy sauce - plus extra to taste
  • 3 medium potatoes - about 500g
  • 3 spring onions
  • 4cm piece of fresh ginger
  • 1 nori sheet - optional
  • 1 x 400g can of young green jackfruit
  • 10g fresh coriander
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp plant-based Thai red curry paste
  • 1 lime
  • 15g fresh ginger
  • 10g coriander leaves - reserved from the fishcakes
  • 1 lime
  • ½ small fresh red chilli
  • 100g mixed salad

Method

1

First, prep the potatoes

  • Peel then cut them into 2.5cm chunks and put them in the large pan of cold salted water
  • Put the pan over a high heat, bring to the boil and cook for 8–12 minutes until tender
  • Drain the potatoes, tip into a large bowl and mash with a potato masher
2

Prepare the fishcake ingredients

  • Trim and thinly slice the spring onions
  • Peel the ginger by scraping off the skin with a spoon, then grate
  • Snip the nori sheet (if using) with scissors into small pieces
  • Drain the jackfruit, rinse under a cold tap and pat dry with a clean tea towel or kitchen paper
  • Pull the jackfruit into pieces with two forks, so it resembles flaked tuna
  • Separate the coriander leaves and stems and chop the stems
3

Now, make the fishcakes

  • Put the frying pan over a medium heat and add the oil
  • Add the spring onion and ginger and sauté for a couple of minutes, then add the jackfruit, coriander stems and nori (if using)
  • Sauté for a further 5 minutes, stirring often, then add the red curry paste and soy sauce
  • Reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often
  • When the jackfruit is lightly browned and tastes fantastic, add the mashed potato, mix well, and fry for another 5 minutes, until the potato has browned slightly
  • Remove from the heat, taste and season to perfection with salt, pepper and a splash more soy sauce
4

Shape and bake the fishcakes

  • Leave until cool enough to handle, then use your hands to form the mixture into 6 evenly-sized patties
  • Place them on the lined baking tray, put in the oven and bake for 17–20 minutes until lightly browned
5

Make the Thai-tare sauce and serve

  • While the fishcakes are baking, make the Thai-tare sauce
  • Halve the lime and squeeze the juice
  • Finely chop the reserved coriander leaves
  • Peel the ginger by scraping off the skin with a spoon, then grate
  • Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix to form a paste
  • Add water if required, to get a dippable, quite loose consistency
  • Cut the whole lime into wedges and chop the chilli
  • Serve the fishcakes with the sauce, a small mixed salad and lime wedges

Tips & Variations

  • Make them smaller: We love making these into little bite-sized cakes for a starter or party snack. Just reduce the cooking time slightly so they don't dry out.
  • Spice it up: If you like heat, Henry always sneaks in an extra chilli or a good spoonful of chilli flakes. Trust us on this one, the warmth really lifts the whole thing.
  • Serve with a dipping sauce: These are brilliant alongside a simple sweet chilli sauce or a quick peanut dipping sauce. Just mix peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce and a splash of water and you're done.

Why This Works

The trick here is getting the potato mash dry enough so the cakes hold together and actually crisp up properly in the pan. We find letting the mash steam off for a couple of minutes before mixing in the other ingredients makes a huge difference. That's what gives you that golden crust on the outside while staying soft and fragrant in the middle.