Guest Post: Salmon Cakes
Fish is good for your health. My mom always reminds us that eating fish is good for us. One of them is Salmon. Salmon has earned good reputation as superfood because it is natually high in Omega 3 fatty acids. These healthy fatty acids help to reduce inflammation, keep our blood flowing easily, and prevent the build-up of atery-clogging plaques in our hearts and brains.
One day, I asked Lai Kuan from Food For Tots if she would be interested to be a guest on my blog. She has kindly accepted! I was thrilled about it! I have been following Food For Tots for a while. I don’t quite remember how I stumbled upon her blog. Probably through another blog, another of another blog… something like this.
But that doesn’t matter, what matter is when I got to her blog, I was happy to know that I found another Malaysian blogger! The food that she makes are delicious and are those that I am very familiar with; and that I miss from time to time! She takes great food photos and I learn that she is a person who is keen to put her very best in things that she is doing.
I particular appreciate some tips that she shares, for e.g. How to Make Smooth Springy Fish Paste. This is something that I have not tried making even though I am aware of the same technic from my mom. She has motivated me to attempt this one day! Today, Lai Kuan is going to share with us a fish recipe. It’s Salmon fish cake. Let’s see what Lai Kuan has to tell us about this recipe.
When Lee Mei wrote to me to ask if I am interested to be her guest writer, I was awe and surprised 
. I started scratching my head 
as what to feature on her beautiful blog. After some discussions, we decided on salmon cakes with an Asian twist.
This recipe is adapted and modified from House of Annie (and originated from All Things Nice). It used interesting ingredients (such as kaffir lime leaves and panko crumbs) in making these salmon cakes . The kaffir lime leaves gave a “citrusome” bite to the cakes and the panko crumbs (Japanese breadcrumbs) added crunchiness to the texture.
I had substituted parsley with coriander leaves which can be easily found here in Singapore, and cheaper too. To enhance the natural sweetness of the cakes, I prefer water chestnut instead of grated ginger. My version of salmon cakes turned out to be flavourful and tasty. Even my mother-in-law who dislikes the fishy taste of salmon gave this recipe a thumb up.
Note:
a) For dipping sauce, I use chilli sauce (I prefer “Lingham” brand). You can try this with ponzu sauce recipe too.
b) You can replace water chestnut with either freshly grated ginger or chopped red onion for a different flavour and texture.
c) If you scrape the salmon meat instead of dicing it into cubes, you will find it easier to form the cakes. But you will not get the chunky texture.
Salmon Cakes
Prep Time:
20 minutes
Cook Time:
30 minutes
Yield:
4 servings
Ingredients:
For the Salmon Cakes :
200g salmon fillet
3-6 kaffir lime leaves (depending on the size and personal preference) – sliced thinly and minced
1 pc water chestnut (abt 2.5 tbs) – chopped
½ tbsp coriander leaves (or parsley) – chopped
½ tbsp spring onions – chopped
¼ cup panko crumbs (Japanese breadcrumbs) and extra for coating
1 tsp wasabi paste (abt 2.5cm)
½ tsp salt
1.5 tbsp cornstarch
½ egg white
1 tbsp vegetable oil (I used extra light olive oil)
Method:
1) Remove skin and bones from the salmon fillet. Dice it into fine cubes.
2) Combine with kaffir lime leaves, water chestnut, coriander leaves, spring onions, panko crumbs, wasabi paste, salt, constarch, egg white and vegetable oil. Stir in 1 direction until well mixed.
3) Form into small cakes using an ice-cream scoop, your hands or measuring spoon (tablespoon size) to make the salmon cakes equally round shaped.
4) Coat the cakes with the remaining panko crumbs.
5) Heat up 2 tbsp of oil in a non-stick pan over a medium high heat.
6) Gently pan-fry the cakes for about 1 minute on each side or until golden brown.
7) Dish up and drain the cakes over paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
8) Serve them warm with dipping sauce on the side.
