Scruff & Steph

These Vietnamese fish cakes are wonderfully crispy and golden on the outside while being smooth and springy on the inside. Made with classic Vietnamese flavours, these fish cakes will make a great accompaniment to soups, sandwiches or a hot bowl of jasmine rice!

My mother’s fish cake recipe is something that has made her quite popular with her friends. This made it a real struggle to get this recipe for you guys. I had to make the point that if anything ever happened to her… then all these fantastic recipes she has in her head will be lost forever! A little dramatic, I know, but you guys don’t know my mother.

Vietnamese Fish Cakes

Unlike its famous counterpart tod mun pla (Thai fish cakes), the Vietnamese version is not usually eaten by itself. You will usually find it on rice, with noodles, in soups or sandwiched between two slices of bread. This is because the Vietnamese version is much milder than the Thai version, which makes it a great accompaniment to many other dishes.

Fish Cake Aesthetics!

A good Vietnamese fish cake should be smooth and have a springy texture to it. The traditional recipes also have a few aesthetic rules - the outside layer should be completely golden and the inside part has to be uniformly white. This means adding ingredients like white pepper instead of black, and using only the white part of the spring onions.

However, as you can see from the pictures, my recipe is all about showing off ingredients. I love seeing bits of colour throughout the cake, it keeps things interesting and it’s a visual reminder of the delicious flavour combination in each cake.

Types of Fish to Use

My mother and I have tried many different types of fish when testing out this recipe, but there has only been a few that have worked. My top picks are Nile Perch, Spanish Mackerel and Talapia. These fish have white firm flesh which is absolutely essential. Most other fish tend to be too flakey which gives the fish cake an undesirable mash potato texture.

Freezing the Fish Cakes

This fish cakes freeze very well. All you need to do is the following:

1. When the fish has been blitzed into a paste and kneaded, put the fish paste into a freezer bag and into the freezer.
2. When you want to cook the fish cakes, take it out of the freezer and let it completely thaw out. Do not microwave!
3. Mold the fish cake mixture into patties and then fry.

My Tips for Success

• It is very important to blitz the fish into a paste first before adding the dill. This will stop the cake from going green.
• Kneading the fish cakes is really important. Getting rid of large air pockets out of the fish cakes will stop it falling apart and exploding. It will also keep the inside nice, smooth and consistent.
• This recipe is also a good one for fish balls to put in soups.
• Any fish cake above 3 cm thickness may struggle to fully cook without burning the outer layer.

Other Fried Recipes

• Vietnamese Spring Rolls - Cha Gio
• Vegan Spring Rolls
• Prawn and Sweet Potato Cakes - Banh Tom
• Fried Bread Stick - Dau Chao Quay

If you are prone to being lazy like me, you could save yourself the trouble and buy packaged fish cakes from your local Asian groceries… but honestly these are worth making yourself. It’s really not that hard, and you’ll have peace of mind knowing what exactly has gone in it. Besides, as Mum would assure you, they are a surefire way to win a few friends!

- Scruff