Tod Mun Pla & Nam Prik Waan (Fried Fishcakes & A Sweet Chilli Sauce)

A good long while back I wrote a post about how to make Tod Mun Pla, whilst I was always happy with the flavour, I was never really happy with the texture; although good and crispy they didn't have that rubberiness or bounciness that is expected in a Thai fish cake. This has led over the last few years to a bit of experimentation with both the recipe and the method and I'm pleased to say that now I think I've finally conquered how to create the perfect bouncy fish cake. The recipe will stay pretty much the same as before except there is an addition of some baking powder and an egg is no longer needed but otherwise it remains the same recipe. The key difference is in the cooking and preparation method- chilled, boiled (yes- boiled!) then fried.

You'll just need a few additional tools to help create the fish cakes. I've also served them alongside a sweet and hot chilli sauce which is different from the cucumber pickle that was used last time, though you could use either or both as they both make a really nice accompaniment to the fish cakes.

For around 15 so fishcakes you'll need:

• 2 fillets of skinless, boneless, firm white fish such as basa

• About six green beans sliced very finely

• A heaped tablespoon of red curry paste, I use Mae Ploy brand

• A good splash of fish sauce

• 4 or 5 kaffir lime leaves, rolled up into a cigar and shredded extremely finely

• A large pinch of sugar

• A heaped teaspoon of baking powder

And for the sauce you will need:

• Two large red chillies, chopped (deseeded if you don't want it too spicy)

• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped

• A chunk of ginger peeled and chopped

• Half a cup of tamarind puree

• A golf ball sized piece of palm sugar

• A pinch of salt

• A small splash of the juice from a jar of pickled garlic

• A level teaspoon of cornflour mixed into a thin paste with a little water

Begin by making the sauce by pureeing together the chillies, ginger and garlic cloves.

In a small pan over a low heat, melt the palm sugar with the half cup of tamarind puree, adding the splash of pickled garlic juice and mix well. When everything is dissolved, add in the chilli garlic and ginger puree along with the pinch of salt and let the mixture cook down for a few minutes and then finally stir in the corn flour blend just to thicken everything up. 

Once this is done put to one side until later. 

Now we move onto the fish cakes. Begin by blending all the fish in a food processor or blender until it's minced into a paste. Put in the sugar, red curry paste and fish sauce and blend again until it's as fine as you can make it. Using a spatula, mix in by hand the green beans and kaffir lime leaves and spread the mixture out thinly onto a plate, covering with cling film. Place the the plate into a freezer and allow it to cool down for 10 to 15 minutes; this will make sure that the mixture firms up and is it easier to work with. 

While the mixture is in the freezer, get a few items ready; bring a large pan of water up to a simmer and make sure you have a vinyl or latex glove handy (make sure it's a non-powdered glove). You'll also need a flat utensil such as a fish slice or a wok turner and a jug of cold water to hand. 

After taking your mixture out of the freezer; begin by popping on your glove and use a spoon to portion out a golf ball sized piece into your gloved hand. Dip your fish slice or wok turner into the jug of water and use it to flatten out and shape the ball of fish paste into a thin 1cm patty. As each patty is formed, again use the slice or turner to gently ease it off your hand and slide it into the pan of simmering water. Continue doing the same until all the mixture is used up and all the patties are simmering. You will notice as they cook they rise to the surface of the water. Make sure that they are fully cooked which won't take long, about four minutes or so and once they are done, scoop them out and let them dry on some kitchen paper for a moment or two. 

You can now heat up a frying pan with oil to the depth of about two centimetres and when hot, fry them for about 2 minutes on either side until dark golden and crisp. Boiling first has the added benefit of stopping the fishcakes from becoming greasy too.

Set along side the sauce you made earlier and you have the perfect bouncy Thai fish cake just like the restaurants

Haw Mok (Fish Custard)

I have vague memories of first making these when I was just discovering Thai food aged about 15 or 16. I don't even remember where I managed to get hold of the banana leaves or if they even turned out okay. Two decades later, it's high time I paid a return visit to Haw Mok.

Fish custard isn't the most appealing sounding name, perhaps a better way to describe haw mok is to say red curry flavoured savoury mousse. You end up with a bouncy textured dense mousse, that is rich with coconut milk and the banana leaf cups adds a hint of smoky fragrance.

I strongly suggest that you spend a bit of time fiddling around with the banana leaves first, learning how to form them into cups. The classic way to hold them together is with cocktail sticks but this wasn't working for me so I've used a trusty stapler to hold them together- if you do this; please be aware of them when serving to others as there is a risk of loose staples getting into the mousse mixture. The banana leaf cups are just to cook and serve in, they aren't edible.

Aim to make about 6-8 cups. To form them, I cut out 4 identical circles of banana leaf about 10cm in diameter each (trim off the the tough edges of the leaf first) before overlapping the centre of all four circles and folding and stapling them until I had a flat bottomed cup. It takes some practice sorry!

However, once you've mastered making the cups, the rest is incredibly easy to do.

This recipe makes 6-8 haw mok, using:

• 3-4 banana leaves (prepared as above)- you can often get them frozen in Asian or Carribean shops
• 2 fillets of white fish, skinned and cut into large chunks
• 1 heaped dessert spoon of red curry paste (I use Mae Ploy brand)
• 2 eggs
• a few leaves of chinese cabbage or other green cabbage, rolled and very finely shredded
• 1 can of coconut milk (a 400ml one), shake before opening to mix
• a small splash of fish sauce
• a big pinch of sugar
• 3-4 kaffir lime leaves, rolled up and finely shredded
• 1 large red chilli, sliced
• a teaspoon of rice flour or just plain flour

Set a steamer/colander with a lid over a large pan of water and bring to the boil.

Place a small amount of shredded cabbage in the bottom of each banana leaf cup.

In a food processor, whizz up the fish, curry paste, fish sauce, eggs, sugar, and 250ml of the coconut milk until well blended. You should now have a very thick mixture, resembling cake batter in texture.

Place the banana leaf cups into the steamer and carefully divide this mixture amongst the cups- don't overfill them.

Place over the boiling water, pop a lid on and steam for 15-20 minutes until completely set. If you're not sure, poke with a skewer; it should come out clean. 

In a small bowl, mix the remaining coconut milk and the flour. Drizzle a small bit of this over the cooking haw mok and replace the lid, steaming for a final few minutes.

To serve, sprinkle over some shredded kaffir lime leaf and a few sliced chillies. The haw mok should easily pull away from the banana leaf. Serve with rice for a full meal.

Pla Tod Khamin (Turmeric Fried Fish)

Ahh, poor bonito; fish never look quite so pretty when they've been deep fried whole- I'm not one for removing heads though, I'd much rather keep them whole- plus you'd miss out on the cheeks!

Saturday just gone I did one of my favourite things to do in my free time, wandering round food markets, picking up random things to take home and make things with. I went to Bolton market; I've been there once before and remembered it was a great place to pick up every kind of fish, cut of meat, exotic vegetables and great for local northern produce. It also has a great fresh Thai fruit and vegetable stall, easily on par with any of my usual favourites in Leeds, Manchester and Birkenhead- very reasonable prices too. 

Along with my bonito fish (£5 for a huge fish), some acacia (cha om), fresh green peppercorns (just because I struggle to get them) I also picked up some bitter gourds for a recipe which will follow soon.

There is nothing fancy about the fish- I wanted to cook it in a way that would do it justice, quickly and simply and served it with nam prik seafood (seafood sauce) and some rice. We ate it as you see it here, sharing it between us.

For two people use:

• a large meaty fish, gutted, scaled and deep slashed cut into both sides
• several knobbly pieces of fresh turmeric, chopped
• half a bulb of garlic, peeled and chopped
• a lot of vegetable oil for deep frying

and if you fancy making the 'sauce seafood' to go with it- here's the link within another of my earlier recipes... 

Heat a large, deep wok full of vegetable oil until hot. Very, VERY carefully slowly slide the fish in and allow it to develop a deep golden crispiness- it will need to be carefully turned over half way through the cooking. It will depend on size but mine took about 10 minutes.

Gently lift out, use two spatulas (an extra pair of hands helps) and drain on kitchen paper.

Still in the hot oil, drop in all the chopped turmeric and garlic and deep fry for around 2 minutes- stirring regularly until you can see the garlic is a light golden brown and everything is slightly crispy. Scoop out with a sifter and sprinkle over the fish.

Nasi Goreng Kampung (Malaysian Fried Rice- Village Style)

I mentioned a while back that I may from time to time, post a non Thai recipe so hope it's okay that today I'm making a short hop over the border into Malaysia. Some of you may remember I went on holiday for a few weeks last year to Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi where I spent as much time as possible eating my way through dishes from all the cultures that call Malaysia home. 

My husband and I particularly enjoyed the simple rice dishes that we ate for breakfast, such as nasi lemak and this one; nasi goreng kampung (village style fried rice). Although it looks quite a straightforward dish it's full of very strong flavours; notably salty, fishy and spicy ones. Treat yourself and top your portion off with a freshly cooked crisp fried egg.

For 4 large portions use:

• A large bowl of cold, pre cooked rice
• a large bunch of morning glory (water spinach) cut into 2 inch pieces
• a handful of green beans, cut into small pieces
• 2 large handfuls of dried crispy anchovies (1 handful finely chopped, 1 left whole)
• 4 red chillies, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 small onion, finely sliced
• a big glug of light soy sauce
• a big squeeze of kecap manis (sweet, dark, thick soy sauce)
• vegetable oil for frying

In a deep wok, heat the oil until hot and fry the onion, garlic and chillies until they have some colour (about 2 minutes). 

Stir fry in the handful of chopped anchovies and green beans (open a window/put on the extractor!), frying for a minute before moving the ingredients to the side of the wok and pouring in the beaten egg. 

Let the egg begin to set before lightly scrambling. Let it set again, scramble, set, scramble until fully cooked and mix all the ingredients back together. 

Throw in the morning glory, briefly stir frying for a minute before carefully tipping all the rice in.

Pour over the sauces and gently toss and mix all the ingredients, making sure all the rice is well coated and heated through. 

Have a taste to see if it needs any more sauce and plate up, sprinkling the other handful of dried fish over the steaming rice.

Choo Chee Pla (Fish in Thick Red Curry Sauce)

Wow, I've been away for a long time again and for that I can only apologise. Those of you who saw my last post will know I'd been rather ill, had lost my appetite and wasn't really cooking, hence putting up a post from before I got the lurgy. You'll hopefully be pleased to know that the 2nd round of antibiotics have done their job and I'm now hungry and have most definitely taken over the running of the kitchen again!!

Choo Chee Pla is a dish that has been on my to do list for quite a long time now, there are certainly some similarities with Penang curry - they're both thick, creamy coconut based dishes, predominantly sweet and mild in heat. The main difference is choo chee uses a red curry paste rather than massaman and is always a fish/seafood based one. For convenience and presentation, I've chosen to use fish fillets but whole fish can also be used. For texture (and mostly indulgence) I've chosen to lightly batter and deep fry the fish; not an essential for choo chee; but very nice!

I like to eat this with lots of fresh sweet basil leaves, white rice and something tangy like a som tam salad to cut through the richness.

For two people use:

• 2 large fish fillets cut in half (I've used basa/river cobbler- yes I know it has poor credentials but it's robust and holds up well when deep frying)
• a large handful of plain flour
• 400ml of good coconut milk eg Chakoh or Aroy-D
• a level tablespoon of red curry paste (Mae Ploy is what I always use)
• a large splash of fish sauce
• a large pinch of palm or light brown sugar
• 5 or 6 kaffir lime leaves, rolled and shredded finely
• optionals to serve- sliced large red chilli & Thai sweet basil leaves 
• vegetable oil for deep frying

Heat the oil for deep frying to around 180 degrees celcius. Pat the fish pieces dry with kitchen paper and dust in the plain flour before placing gently in the oil, fry until a light golden brown and crisp (around 5-8 minutes depending on the size). I did mine in two batches so as not to overcrowd the fryer.

While the fish fries, make the sauce. Heat a dry wok and when hot, add in the coconut milk. Allow the milk to bubble away, reduce and the oils to start making their way out- this should take about four to five minutes. Stir gently to help it along.

Next pop in the red curry paste and mix well for several minutes until fully blended and the red oils start to float to the top of the sauce. Add in the fish sauce and sugar, stir well.

Drain the fried fish on kitchen paper before putting on your serving plate, pour over the sauce, sprinkle over the lime leaves and serve up with chillies and sweet basil. Don't leave it hanging around too long so the fish stays crisp.

Gaeng Taipo Pla (Morning Glory & Fish Curry)

Hi there everyone, firstly I hope you've had a lovely Christmas and/or some time off to relax and spend with friends and family. Let me start by apologising for my absence. I would love to say I've been having wild parties and gorging on food for the last 10 days or so but that isn't the case; in fact Christmas more or less has been thrown out of the window this year. I've been incredibly sick with a clostridium difficile infection, which developed after a course of antibiotics. I'm not home and dry yet but after a week of being rather poorly, I am starting to feel more human and am eating again. I'm also currently banned from the kitchen while infectious and on a very light diet; although am trying some Khao Man Gai (fatty chicken rice) tonight.

What with the floods/clean ups and power cuts and now this horrible bug it feels like I've been away for long enough, so it's high time to get blogging again.

This is a recipe I made a couple of weeks back that was planned during the time we had the floods; remember the swordfish I had to throw away? The week after, I bought some less expensive, but delicious steaks of hake and finally made the curry I had planned; Gaeng Taipo Pla.

It reminded me of some of the dishes we ate while we were in Malaysia in the summer, there's certainly a lot of common ingredients. It's a nice easy one to do and if you're sick of turkey and meat right now as a lot of us are after the Christmas festivities, it's a great dish- hot, sour, pungent and healthy with lots of crunchy morning glory.

For two people use:

• Two fish steaks (I used hake but any firm fish will work well)
• A very big handful of morning glory, trim off ends then cut into inch long pieces
• 200ml or 1/2 a can of coconut milk + water to make up to 400ml
• 75ml of tamarind concentrate
• A level tablespoon of red curry paste (I use Mae Ploy brand)
• A big splash of fish sauce
• A walnut sized chunk of palm sugar/ light brown sugar
• Juice of a large lime
• A few lime leaves, ripped up into small pieces

Heat the coconut milk in a wok over a reasonably high heat, gently stirring every now and again until the oils begin to separate from the coconut milk. When they do, add in the red curry paste and fry until well mixed, fragrant and the red oils can be seen. Now pop in the fish sauce, tamarind, sugar and lime leaves along with the additional 200ml water. After all are well mixed, gently pop in the fish steaks and let them slowly cook in the sauce, carefully turning over if needed after a few minutes to allow the fish to cook fully.

When you are happy the fish is cooked, use a slotted spoon or fish slice to carefully lift the fish out and put briefly to one side. Back to the pan of bubbling curry, add in the lime juice and morning glory, stirring well, cooking for only a minute or so until the morning glory is just wilted. 

Serve the curry with a fish steak on top along with freshly cooked white rice.

Pad Pla Cha (Sizzling Fried Fish)

The last week has certainly been a chaotic one- in our corner of the world we've had horrendous amounts of rain which led to wide scale flooding in our city centre, followed by our substation getting flooded, blowing up and widespread blackouts. It really was strange to have 3 days without electric, internet or even phone signal; most people also use digital phones so even a basic phone call using a landline was out. Consequently, cooking in the dark at friends and family's houses (we don't have gas here, only electric so we had to borrow) using up whatever food we had that hadn't yet gone off did not make for a productive week to run a food blog- all the shops were shut due to flood damage and having no power and even the museum where I work (unfortunately next to the river) had suffered from the flood waters so the beginning of week there was much cleaning up to be done.

This recipe for pad pla cha was made last week before all of this even began and has been waiting to get uploaded for a bit. The 'cha' part of the name describes the sizzling noise made by stir frying at high temperature, there are many variations on pad cha recipes, this is just one! I find deep frying the fish holds it together and helps absorb the flavours of the sauce. It has a couple of specific ingredients- the green peppercorns and the krachai root which give it a unique flavour.

For two people use:

• 2 small fillets of fish (I've use basa- a type of catfish)
• a big handful of flour
• 1 long Asian aubergine/ 3 Thai, sliced
• a handful of green pea aubergine
• a tablespoon of green peppercorns
• a heaped teaspoon of red curry paste (I use Mae Ploy brand)
• 2 small red chillies
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 large red chillies, sliced
• 2 fingers of krachai (fingerroot), peeled and finely chopped
• a large handful of sweet Thai basil (bai horapha)
• a large splash of oyster sauce
• a large splash of light soy sauce
• a small splash of fish sauce
• vegetable oil for deep frying and a splash for the stir fry

Make a rough paste in a pestle and mortar with the small chillies and garlic, set aside. Cut the fish into thin slices and coat them in the flour, dusting off the excess. Heat a pan of oil to a depth of at least 3 inches and when hot, deep fry the fish until crisp and light golden in colour, scooping out and draining onto a paper towel. Set aside briefly.

In a wok, heat a splash of oil over a high heat and briefly fry off the chill/garlic paste and the red curry paste for around 30 seconds until fragrant. Next pop in the sliced aubergine and fry for a few minutes until slightly softened. Next in go the pea aubergines, green peppercorns, krachai and sliced red chilli and fry for just a minute. Now pop in the breaded fish and be much more gentle now, stir through and add in the remaining sauces (soy, fish and oyster), coat everything well. Finally, turn off the heat and throw in the basil leaves, briefly stirring through. 

Serve with freshly cooked rice. 

Pla Neung Manao (Steamed Lime Fish)

When my best friend told me her Dad had been fishing and she had a trout for us I was over the moon. We'd been promised fish before though usually they never materialised but this time- there it was. When I saw it, I was taken aback by just how big it was- most supermarket trout end up around 1 foot tops but this fella was more like two feet- we wouldn't be going hungry!!

The only fitting way to treat such a beautiful fresh fish was to keep it whole and enjoy it with a vibrant, fresh tasting sauce that wouldn't swamp the mild tasting trout. 'Neung' means to steam but this in itself presented a substantial problem- how to steam such a large fish; there was no way it was fitting in a steamer and it was even too big for my large oval casserole dish. In the end it was placed on a baking rack, in a roasting tray sat over an inch of boiling water filled from the kettle. A tight cover of tin foil, kept up off the skin allowed the whole fish to steam evenly.

And what an amazingly tasty trout it was: a very light flavour, meaty texture and the sauce complemented it beautifully. This is about as healthy as food gets- no guilt whatsoever with this meal! Serve with rice for a full meal.

For 2-4 people use:

• a large trout ( as fresh as you can get and of a size to suit your needs!)
• a large bunch of coriander, just over half left to decorate,the rest finely chopped
• a few chopped red chillies (to suit your taste- I've used 3 in the sauce)
• a bulb (yes, a bulb) of peeled, finely chopped garlic
• 50ml of fish sauce (nam pla)
• juice of 2 juicy limes

Steam your fish using your chosen method depending on it's size and whatever you have in your kitchen that will so the job! Check periodically to see if it's cooked to your liking.

While it cooks, make the 'sauce seafood' (Thai's do actually say 'sauce seafood', they don't translate it to nam talay or similar). Mix the rest of the ingredients and have a taste- it should be predominantly sour but salty and chilli flavours not far behind. Some add some sugar, I prefer not to.

Plate your fish (this is the biggest I had) and serve with the coriander, pouring over the sauce.

Homemade Sushi Night!

Having a change from Thai (just a brief one- promise!) Homemade sushi with the best ever tasting sushi grade fish from Kazari

Pla Pad Prik Thai Dam (Fish Fried with Black Pepper)

Deep fried fish, lots of garlicky spices and crunchy vegetables- you can’t really go wrong here. I suspect this is one of these dishes that may have started out as tourist food but has ended up being just as popular with the Thai people.
It’s a quick easy to make dish that doesn’t use any obscure or hard to track down ingredients. It’s a nice contrast to have two kinds of heat from the smoky black pepper and the fiery chillies. It didn’t last long on our plates anyway!! Serve with fluffy white rice.
For two portions use:

• a large, skinned sea fish fillet (I used haddock- pollock, coley, catfish or ling are also good) cut into large chunks
• 1 & ½ bell peppers (whatever colour you fancy)
• 1 onion, sliced into strips
• 2 spring onions, cut into large pieces
• 4/5 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
• 2-3 small red chillies, chopped fine
• a dessertspoon of black pepper, ground
• a cup of plain flour
• a big splash of oyster sauce
• a big splash of light soy sauce
• vegetable oil for deep frying/ stir frying

Start off by coating the chunks of fish in the flour. Heat a deep pan or wok and when hot, gently drop in the fish and deep fry until lightly golden and crisp- roughly ¾ minutes. Cook in batches if needed so the pan isn’t overcrowded and drain on kitchen paper.
In a clean wok, heat a splash of oil until really hot and throw in the sliced onions and peppers, stir frying for 3 minutes and allowing the bottoms to get a little char. Throw in the spring onions, garlic, chillies and ground pepper (it’ll make you cough!) stir frying for another 30 seconds before adding in the fried fish and both sauces. Briefly stir fry (gently so the fish doesn’t break up) so everything is coated in sauce and serve with rice.

Khanom Jeen Nam Ya (Fish Curry Noodles)

Typically this is a breakfast or lunch dish in Thailand but if you make it for your evening meal I don’t think anyone will mind! This is typical southern Thai street food and is another of those dishes that can be adapted depending on what is available from the market (or in my case, my local Asian food store) on the day. Don’t feel you have to use the same accompanying vegetables. Eggs, pickled cabbage and stink or wing beans are all popular too.
The basic fish curry is served over soft rice noodles and served alongside a selection of crunchy raw vegetables, herbs and crispy dried chillies. The slippery noodles and soft silky sauce contrast really nicely with the beansprouts and green beans and it is both fiercely hot, fishy and salty but balanced out with rich creamy coconut and pepped up with lots of citrus flavours.
For 3-4 portions use:

• A pack of fresh rice noodles (typically thin ones), separated into individual strands or if using dried, soaked until fully flexible.
• 300g of skinned & boneless fish
• a big splash of fish sauce
• 400ml (a can) of coconut milk
• 200ml of fish ‘stock’ (boiling water left over)
• about 8 kaffir lime leaves, torn up

For the curry paste:

• 2 fingers of fresh turmeric
• 2 fingers of krachai (finger root/galingale)
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• a small handful of dried red chillies (6-12)
• a big knob of galangal
• 3 Thai shallots
• a teaspoon of black peppercorns

And to accompany:

• 2 heaped handfuls of beansprouts
• a handful of green/long beans, chopped into pieces
• a few handfuls of whatever fresh Asian herbs you can get- sweet basil would be ideal (I couldn’t get it) so coriander was used here
• several dried red chillies (lightly toasted to crisp them up)
• several slices of cucumber

Start as ever, by making the paste. Pound up all the ingredients, bit by bit, not putting too much in the mortar at once. Start with the tougher ingredients, working through to the softer ones and keep working away until a smooth red paste is reached- 15/20 mins probably. Pop the paste to one side, you need the mortar again…
While doing this, gently boil the fish in water. If you use pre filleted skinned fish, it’ll not take long, perhaps 10 mins. If you use whole fish, maybe 15 minutes. After boiling, scoop out, straining off any drips of water and spend some time as needed to remove any skin and bones. Keep the fishy water for the next step. Put the prepared fish into the mortar and gently pound it, until you have a smooth paste.
Heat a wok and pour in all the coconut milk, gently heating it through. Add in your newly made curry paste and stir through. Let the curry develop for 5 minutes before adding lime leaves, fish sauce and the pounded fish. Add in some of the fish stock as needed- the curry should still have a fairly thick (yoghurt like) consistency. Cook on low heat for a further five minutes. In the last 5 minutes, heat through the fresh rice noodles in hot water until soft and flexible and drain, plating up alongside your selection of vegetables. Ladle over the nam ya curry.

Laab Pla Duk (Catfish Chopped Salad)

This is the 3rd recipe for laab/larb/laap that I’ve done now. It’s something we cook quite a lot in our house as it’s easy to do and is fresh tasting and filling too. It’s sort of a salad (but much better than that). Laab is a northern Thai dish and it can come in hundreds of varieties and variations. There’s even one that involves raw pigs blood (though I don’t think I’ll be giving that one a go!) This one made a good change from the chicken or pork versions I’ve done before and the grilled catfish adds a nice smoky depth to the dish. Serve with sticky rice to mop up and juices that are left.

For two people use:

• 1 whole catfish
• 4 (Thai) shallots, sliced
• 3 spring onions, chopped
• a dessert spoon of white rice (for making khao khua- toasted rice powder)
• a big sprinkle of chilli flakes
• a big splash of fish sauce (nam pla)
• juice of 1-2 limes
• 2 wedges of white cabbage
• a big handful each of herbs (I used Vietnamese mint and sawtooth culantro- regular mint and coriander are perfectly fine- I just get excited when I see Thai herbs)

Start with the catfish and get it out of the way- mine was jet black in colour and looked pretty angry- put it on foil and shove it under the grill quickly and grill until fully cooked and the skin is crispy, gently turn it over half way through the cooking; it should take 10-15 minutes altogether.
When the fish has cooled down, remove and discard the skin and pick all the flesh of the bones. Use a big knife to roughly chop the fish.
While the fish is cooling make Khao Khua (toasted rice powder). Heat the dessert spoon of rice in a dry wok and keep moving it until it starts to toast, becoming light brown and smelling slightly nutty, about 3-5 minutes. When it’s toasted, pour into a mortar and grind into a fine powder.
Add all the ingredients into a bowl (apart from the herbs and cabbage) and give everything a really good mix together. Serve with the cabbage wedge and herbs alongside.

Miang Pla Yang (Grilled Fish Wraps)

This was a really quick and simple tea, grilled fish with rice noodles, herbs, wrapped in lettuce and dipped in a sour/spicy sauce called nam jim.
It made me think more of Vietnamese food than Thai with all the fresh herbs and little cooking and I could see this being perfect bbq food for a hot summer’s day.

For two people use:

• 2 cleaned seabass or other fish
• a handful of mint leaves
• a handful of Vietnamese mint or coriander
• about half a lettuce, leaves separated
• a big handful of fresh rice vermicelli

and for the nam jim sauce…

• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 small red chillies
• a few stalks of coriander
• juice of 1 lime
• a small splash of fish sauce (nam pla)

Start by grilling the fish under a medium grill. It should take about 10-12 minutes to get some colour/ a little char. Gently turn it over after half way. When it’s cooked, you’ll know; it’ll easily flake and the skin will be a bit crispy
While the fish grills, make the nam jim sauce by blending/pounding up all the ingredients. Set on a serving platter with the rest of the ingredients around.
To eat, treat it like a Thai tortilla; take a lettuce leaf, grab some morsels of fish, top with a few strands of noodles and some of the herbs. Roll the whole thing up like a cigar and dip into the sauce as you eat.

Pla Pao (Salt Crusted Baked Fish)

More lovely fish :) One of the good things to have come out of my move to North Yorkshire is access to a new supermarket (Morrisons) which (imho) has much better fish than the other major supermarket chains. So I’ve been eating much more of it of late. This is a great recipe, fun to do and fairly quick and easy- the salt crust keeps everything really juicy inside.

For two people you’ll need:

• Two fish (tilapia, sea bass, bream etc.) LEAVE SCALES ON THE FISH! Very important!!


• 500g salt


• a handful of flour


• a splash of water


• a few sticks of lemongrass, bashed

and for the Nam Jim seafood sauce use:

• juice of 1 lime


• a big splash of fish sauce (nam pla) all supermarkets sell it


• 3 more garlic cloves, peeled


• 3 or 4 green Thai chillies


• a small handful of coriander, finely chopped


• a pinch of sugar

Heat the oven to about 180 degrees/ 350F/ gas 4. In a bowl mix up the salt, flour and splash of water- you should have a thick paste. Take the fish (and remember the fish wants it’s scaled LEFT ON for this recipe) and stuff the bashed lemongrass stalks inside the cavity. Place the fish onto a baking tray and press a thin coating of the salt paste all over the fish but avoid getting in inside the cavity. Bake it in the oven, very gently turning it over after 20 minutes or so. Altogether it should take about 30-40 minutes or until the crust is rock hard and brown. 

While the fish is baking, make the Nam Jim seafood sauce. In a pestle and mortar, bash up the 3 garlic cloves and green chillies for a moment till you have a rough paste. Add in the chopped coriander, pinch of sugar, fish sauce and lime juice. Stir it well and pour out in a small bowl for later on.

When the fish is done, very carefully lift it out, peeling the whole crust and skin off the fish- try to keep the all the salt away from the freshly exposed fish. Serve alongside some coriander and the nam jim seafood sauce.

Pla Rad Prik (Fish in Chilli Sauce)

There’s been a lot of pork on the menu recently and head’s up- there’s more to come. I can’t help it- pork is the commonest meat in Thailand and it tastes sooo good! For today though, still not exactly healthy- a deep fried fish in a sweet and sour chilli sauce. Very satisfying and pretty quick to make too.

For two people use:

• two whole white fish- the sea bass looked good today so I got those


• 5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped


• ½ onion, finely chopped


• 5 or 6 red chillies, finely chopped


• 2 tablespoons sugar


• a big splash fish sauce (nam pla)


• a big splash of tamarind liquid (use juice 1 lime if you can’t get it)


• Some coriander leaves, roughly ripped up


• lots of vegetable/ sunflower oil for deep frying

Take a minute to make sure your fish have been scaled first otherwise this dish will be godawful. Then use a sharp knife to cut deep slits along both sides of the fish. Heat a wok half full of oil on a low- medium heat and when it’s reasonably hot, slide the fish in. They want to cook fairly slowly, don’t touch them AT ALL. Once the fish are in, start the sauce..,

Heat a small amount of oil in another pan, gently fry the onion, chilli and garlic until soft for about 3 minutes before adding in the sauces and sugar and a splash of water too. Let in reduce down while the fish continue to cook. 

After the fish has been cooking for 10 minutes on one side, use ladles/ spatulas, plates, whatever, to very gently turn in over. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes- it should end up being very crispy.

When the fish is done, gently lift it out onto a plate, pour over the chilli sauce which should be syrupy and scatter the coriander leaves around.

Pla Tod Gratiem & Nam Jim Seafood

This has been my attempt to re create a dish I first had in Thailand 10 years ago. I can’t even remember exactly where I was when I ate it- I remember sitting nearby a river, it may have been Kanchanaburi. Anyway, it was a deep fried fish with a solid crust of minced garlic- way more garlic than I’ve used in my recipe and the crust of garlic had to be hacked away to reveal the fish inside. When we asked what kind of fish had been used we got a simple answer- river fish, perhaps it had been some sort of catfish. In my recipe I’ve used farmed bream. The sauce is another classic Thai dipping sauce (nam jim just means dipping sauce) and bizarrely, Thai’s do actually called it ‘Nam Jim Seafood’ or Sauce Seafood’!! This dish doesn’t require anything obscure, everything is easily found at a regular supermarket.


For 2 you’ll need:

• 2 meaty firm fish, sea bream worked very well


• 2-3 BULBS of garlic- minced


• a beaten egg


• a big pinch of salt and pepper


• vegetable oil for deep frying


• juice of 1 lime


• a big splash of fish sauce (nam pla) all supermarkets sell it


• 3 more garlic cloves, peeled


• 3 or 4 green Thai chillies


• a small handful of coriander, finely chopped


• a pinch of sugar

Start by making the Nam Jim Seafood. In a pestle and mortar, bash up the 3 garlic cloves and green chillies for a moment till you have a rough paste. Add in the chopped coriander, pinch of sugar, fish sauce and lime juice. Stir it well and pour out in a small bowl for later on.


Next get the fried garlic prepared. Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a frying pan. It doesn’t want to be too hot or the garlic will burn, keep the heat quite low. Add the garlic so it just gently sizzles and keep stirring regularly until the garlic lightly browns, may take up to 10 minutes. Once browned, scoop out (reserve flavoured oil) and drain on kitchen paper before transferring to a flat plate. On another plate, pour the beaten egg.


Now get the fish ready. Using sharp scissors, trim off all the fins but leave the head and tail. Most fish will already come gutted but will probably require scaling- don’t miss this, it’ll be horrible otherwise- use a sharp knife to scrape off all the scales under cold running water. Pat dry and cut a few deep slits on each side of the fish. Add more oil to the garlickly oil from just before and heat high. When it’s hot add your fish and cook on high for about 5 minutes either side, use a spatula and a plate to very gently turn them over. When the fish is fully cooked through, lift them out very gently and carefully dip the fish into the beaten egg- on both sides, before transferring it into the plate of crispy garlic, and coat both sides. Transfer the fish back to the hot oil, for just a minute on each side until the crust has formed.


Serve with rice, fresh coriander, a lime for squeezing over and the Nam Jim Seafood.

Tod Mun Pla (Fried Fishcakes)

Every Thai restaurant in the UK sells these and everywhere you go they are pretty much identical. I’ve come to the conclusion that *most* restaurants will buy them in ready made and while they are generally very tasty and have that quintessential rubberyness, can’t help but feel a freshly made tod mun pla would be so much better. On that note, I admit I have cheated and used my favourite Thai red curry paste brand, Mae Ploy but by all means make your own red curry paste from scratch.


For around 20 fishcakes use:

• 3 fillets of white fish (I used pouting; coley and pollock are good too) skinned and cut into chunks


• around 8 green beans, sliced very fine


• a heaped tablespoon of red curry paste (Mae Ploy being my choice but all supermarkets sell red curry paste now)


• a good splash of fish sauce (nam pla) easy to get in supermarkets


• 5 or 6 kaffir lime leaves ( forget dried ones, bigger Sainsburys sell fresh. Frozen are fine too. Roll them up into a cigar and shred very fine. 


• a big pinch of sugar


• 1 egg


• vegetable oil for frying

For the cucumber pickle you’ll need:

• a thumb sized chunk of cucumber, cut into a fine dice


• a big splash of white wine vinegar


• 2 Thai shallots or the whites of 2 spring onions, finely diced


• 2 or 3 birds eye chillies, finely chopped


• a small pinch of sugar

Start off by making the pickle, mix all the ingredients listed above in a small bowl and leave to ‘pickle’ while you make the fishcakes.


Put all the ingredients other than the fish into a bowl. For the fish, place a few chunks at a time into a pestle and mortar and then bash away for several minutes until the fish becomes a paste. Keep going until all the fish has become a paste and add to the bowl with all the other ingredients. Mix everything together well. Fill the bottom of a frying pan with the oil and heat. When it’s hot, scoop out a spoonful (aim for a golf ball sized amount) of the fishcake mixture, flatten into a small cake and gently place in the oil. Don’t overcrowd the pan, do as many batches as need be. After a few minutes, check on the fishcake colour, if it’s looking a deep golden brown, turn it over, if not give it a little more time. They should take around 4-5 minutes total. Flip them a few times if need be.

Drain onto kitchen paper before serving with the pickled cucumber.