How to make really easy Thai Fishcakes (Tort Man Pla) and Cucumber Dipping Sauce (Nam Chim Taeng Kwa) Recipe

These delicious little fishcakes are a really popular Thai streetfood, and just the smell of them cooking can take me back to a dingy sidestreet in the suburbs of downtown Bangkok. They come served in see-through plastic bags with a bamboo skewer and a tiny bag of sauce.

Fishcakes (makes about 28)

450g white fish fillets

3 heaped tbsp Thai red curry paste

2 tbsp chopped coriander

1 small red chili, de-seeded

1 beaten egg

50g fine green beans, finely sliced


Dipping sauce

4 tbsp rice vinegar

125g sugar

1 tsp fish sauce

75g roughly chopped roasted peanuts

1 small red chili, de-seeded and finely chopped

A cucumber, de-seeded and diced

To make the fish cakes, pat the fillets dry with kitchen paper, chop then blend them in a processor until minced. Add the paste, fish sauce and egg, then whizz again, before stirring in the beans. Wet your hands, roll a heaped teaspoonful full of mix into a ball, then flatten between your palms, repeating with the rest of the mix. Fry in batches in 5cm deep peanut oil until golden brown.

To make the sauce, put 125ml of water in a small saucepan along with the vinegar and sugar, bring to boil then simmer for 5 minutes. Cool and then stir in the other ingredients.