Kind of Thai Fishcakes

Just a quick recipe for you tonight that I made for me and my flatmate last night. We had a Thai inspired meal of fishcakes and stir-fried veg.

I'll be honest, it was my first time making these fishcakes and I completely made up the recipe so they still need a little bit of work, but I vowed to share my kitchen successes and failures on this blog so you're going to get it anyway!! Not that this was a failure - it was pretty nice, just not gobsmackingly beautiful - so why don't you play around with the recipe a little and you might find something more delicious than mine!



  
Serves 3 (us two and my dinner tonight!)

 

Ingredients

3 small portions of potato, peeled and chopped
1 stalk of lemongrass
your choice of stir fry veg, chopped - I used cabbage, pepper, broccoli and carrot
1 teaspoon sugar
splash of rice wine vinegar
3 fillets of white fish
3 teaspoons Thai Green curry paste (if you spend a little more on a better paste then this is more than enough because it'll be full of flavour, but if it's a cheapo one then you might need a little more!)
a handful of fresh coriander, chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped
sea salt and black pepper
1/2 lime, squeezed
 olive oil 
1 small egg
plain flour
a drizzle of soy sauce
sweet chilli sauce (to serve)

Begin by getting a pan of water boiling on the hob. Slightly squash your lemon grass with the flat of your knife to release the flavours, then add to the pan whole (or in half if too long!). My intention here is to flavour the water - and subsequently the potato - with these gorgeous citrus flavours without them overpowering the fishcake.


Prepare all of your stir-fry veg and put in a bowl. Mix in the sugar and rice wine vinegar and leave to one side for later.

Then, spread the green curry paste over your fish fillets. Place them on a baking tray and wrap loosely with silver foil. This needs to go in a preheated oven until just cooked and flaky (probably at about 180 degrees for around 10-20mins depending on the size of your fillets).
  
Add your chopped potato to the pan of water and boil until soft (about 10mins).


Once the fish is cooked, remove from the oven and flake into a large bowl. Add the chilli, coriander and lime juice, and season with salt and pepper.

Once soft, drain the potatoes and remove the lemongrass stalk. Add a drizzle of olive oil and mash. Then add the potato to your fish bowl, mixing together.


Sprinkle your flour onto a flat surface. When the ingredients in your bowl are cool enough to touch, crack your egg into the bowl and combine with your hands. Collect a small handful into a ball and squash between the palms of your hands to make a fishcake shape. Lightly dip both sides into the flour and put on a plate ready to fry. Repeat until you have created all of your fishcakes.







Add a drop of olive oil into a pan (I used a griddle pan) and pop your fishcakes in. Cook for a couple of minutes on each side.

For your veg, simply add it to a wok with a dash of olive oil and soy sauce. Cook for a couple of minutes until the veg is starting to soften, but still with some crunch!



Serve up and enjoy with some sweet chilli sauce!

The Red Lion at Stone Edge

Sunday Bistro Dinner with Family

Photo from The Red Lion Website

As a celebration for my grandparents finally moving into the cottage next to us, we went out for a delicious pub dinner at The Famous Red Lion at Stone Edge. If you have ever visited Derbyshire then you have probably visited the pub-come-functionroom-come-bistro. Or if you are ever in the region then it is well worth a visit for quality food and a lovely rustic setting.

Right up on the hillside between Chesterfield and Matlock, in a lovely stone building with rich wooden beams and furniture inside, The Red Lion at Stanage (as everyone calls it) is relaxed and typical of the area, while still upholding a sense of quality. Luckily for me, my parents house is close enough to this pub that I can call it my local!

As there was a large group of us, we managed to test most of the small Sunday Bistro menu. One thing to be aware of with this pub, though, is that they change their menus regularly so don't have your hopes up for one of these tasty looking dishes!!

Starters

We had a selection of starters ranging from Foie Gras to Fishcake, Black Pudding and Poached Egg to Salmon Tartare, and even a good ole Tomato Soup.



I had the salmon dish which was served with quails eggs and onions - it was absolutely delicious. The salmon had a great texture, not too rubbery as it sometimes can be when its uncooked, and a lovely flavour combination with the delicate eggs and my favourite ingredient, onion.

Everyone enjoyed the starters, but I think there were some envious of my Salmon Tartare... Comparing it to the tasty but not particularly special fishcakes, it seemed to be in a different league!!

 Mains

The main course was a lot more like the typical pub food that we might expect from an English countryside pub. A couple chose to try the roast dinner dishes, from tender beef to tasty pork with apple sauce, both served with crispy Yorkshire puddings.

Others were tempted by gammon steak with fried egg and chips, or the more delicate mushroom risotto or sea-bream with capers.

I opted for a very basic, but very yummy fish and chips - the chips were fat chunks of potato with a gorgeous colour and a crunch to match, while the haddock was flaky and delicious with a light and crispy batter, and the best part of the dish was the proper mushy peas which hid under the fish.

Desert

And this needs no introduction...

All in all a great family meal, a fabulous pub and a relaxed place to go for a good quality meal. The Red Lion at Stanage... proving that sometimes the local is the best!