Spicy Fish Cakes

These spicy fish cakes are a great way to up your fish intake if you find fish boring.

They make a great burger for a main course or make smaller ones for a starter.

Easy to make, quick to cook with only 219 calories too.

Bon appétit!   

Jump to:

• ❤️ Why you will love this dish
• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🍽 Equipment
• 🔪 Instructions
• ⏲️ Cooking Time
• 🥗 Side Dishes
• 🥙 Substitutions
• 📖 Variations
• 🍣 Storage
• 🍱 Prepare in Advance
• More fish dishes
• 📋 Recipe
• Seafood
• Food safety
• 💬 Comments

If you are bored of beef burgers and fancy something lighter, try these fish cakes.

They are so easy to prepare in advance and take just a few minutes to cook, so they are perfect for busy weeknights.

The best bit for me is that you can use any defrosted white fish, which is often cheaper than fresh fish, and turn it into something totally different.

❤️ Why you will love this dish

• Low in fat and calories.
• Perfect for preparing in advance.
• Budget friendly.
• Great as a starter or main course.
• Quick to cook.

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🥘 Ingredients

• Fish - I use the cheapest frozen skinless fish fillets from the supermarket, which tends to be pollack. It doesn't matter about the size as they will be chopped.
• lemon grass stalk - these are available in most larger supermarkets.
• Thai red curry paste - from a jar.
• Chillies - long red chillies. To reduce the heat remove the seeds.
• Coriander - fresh coriander.
• Ginger root - piece of ginger root for the best flavour. I buy a large piece and cut into portions and freeze in a ziplock bag. It can be grated from frozen without peeling for ease.
• Fish sauce - this is highly concentrated but really enhances the flavour.
• Egg - fresh, free range egg for binding.
• Flour - plain all purpose flour.
• Oil - for frying. I use vegetable or olive oil.

The printable recipe card with full ingredient quantities and instructions can be found at the bottom of the article.

🍽 Equipment

• food processor
• sharp knife
• chopping board
• baking parchment
• kitchen paper
• colander or sieve

🔪 Instructions

Start by chopping the fish into chunks.

💭 Top tip

• If you are using frozen fish make sure that it is well thawed. Place it in a colander over the sink. It's really important to squeeze out all the excess water or the fish burgers will not stick together. You can use your hands to squeeze, but I find it's easier to used a potato masher over the colander.

Lay the fish on some kitchen paper while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Rough chop the chillies, ginger (or grate it if it's frozen), lemon grass and coriander.

Place in the food processor with the egg, sugar, fish sauce and red curry paste. Process until well combined.

Add the fish and pulse a few times until well combined. If the mixture seems too wet add a tablespoon of flour.

Divide the mixture into four fish cakes for a main course or 8 for a starter.

Coat with the flour.

Refrigerate for the fish burgers for 30 minutes. I find this helps them to firm up and make them easier to fry.

⏲️ Cooking Time

Heat the oil to medium in a non stick frying pan and add the spicy fish cakes.

They are quite thick so allow about 3-4 minutes a side.

If you prefer cook under the grill (broiler).

You can serve these straightaway or cool and reheat, or freeze later.

🥗 Side Dishes

I love to serve these heaped in a toasted bun.

Serve with salad or one of these ideas.

• Tomato and Onion Salad
• Cherry Tomato and Feta Salad Broad Bean Salad
• Mushroom Salad
• Pear and Rocket Salad
• Pea Salad
• Creamy Cucumber Salad
• Broad Bean Salad
• Courgette Salad

🥙 Substitutions

• Fish sauce - use soy sauce, tamari sauce, oyster sauce or Worcester sauce.
• Pollack - any white fish will work. Try hake, cod, haddock or basa if you prefer.
• Chillies - use chilli flakes or aquarter of a teaspoon of chilli powder.
• Lemon grass - use fresh lemon zest.

📖 Variations

• Salmon - use fresh or tinned salmon.
• Shellfish - use a combination of chopped prawns or crab and white fish.

🍣 Storage

• Refrigerator - cool, cover and store in the fridge for up to 2 days.
• Freezer - pack in sealed containers and freeze for up to a month. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator.
• Reheat - in a frying pan over a medium heat with a little oil.

🍱 Prepare in Advance

• Leave the uncooked fish cakes covered in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

Let me know what you think in the comments or you can post a picture and tag me on Twitter @chezlereve, Instagram @chezlerevefrancais, or Facebook @chezlerevefrancais

More fish dishes

• Crispy Miso Cod
• Baked Szechuan Salt and Pepper Prawns
• Salmon Gravlax with Gin and Juniper
• Baked Sefood Parcels
• Seared Scallops on Peas with Chorizo
• Squid Stuffed with Prawns and Crab
• Salmon Mac and Cheese
• Salmon and Broccoli Quiche

📋 Recipe

Thai Fish Burgers was originally published on the 15th May 2016 and has been updated with new pictures and content.

Food safety

We sometimes take for a granted that we have years (or decades) of cooking experience, that the average visitor may not. Add to, or remove from, the list below with health and safety tips.

• Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
• Wash hands after touching raw meat
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
• Never leave cooking food unattended
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
• Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove

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