Fish Cakes with Pickled Cucumbers (Tord Man Plaa)

Ingredients

One 1-inch piece ginger, grated
Fish desserts:
1 pound skinless cod fillets, reduce into 1-inch chunks
1/2 cup long beans, sliced into 1/8-inch rounds
2 tablespoons crimson curry paste
1 tablespoon fish sauce
5 fresh kaffir lime leaves, very thinly sliced
four cloves garlic, grated
1 egg, beaten
Pickled Cucumbers:
1/4 cup white distilled vinegar
three tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 red Thai bird chiles, thinly sliced
1 cup diced English cucumbers (1/four-inch dice)
Vegetable oil, for frying

Directions

For the fish cakes: In a food processor, pulse the cod until it just forms a paste, 10 to 12 times. The fish should be mostly smooth in texture but can have small chunks. Transfer the fish to a large bowl and add the long beans, curry paste, fish sauce, kaffir lime leaves, garlic, egg and ginger and mix well with your hands. Using 2 tablespoons per cake, form the fish mixture into small cakes about 2 inches wide and 1/2-inch thick. Place the cakes onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

For the pickled cucumbers: Combine the white vinegar, 1/4 cup water, the fish sauce, sugar and chiles in a mixing bowl and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the diced cucumbers and stir to combine. Refrigerate while you fry the fish cakes.

Heat 1/2-inch vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. The oil is hot enough when you place the tip of a wooden chopstick or the back of a wooden spoon into it and small bubbles form around it. Fry the cakes in batches until light golden brown and cooked through, turning occasionally, from 1 to 2 minutes per side. Place the cooked fish cakes on a baking sheet lined with paper towels to catch any excess oil. Transfer the cakes to a serving plate and top with pickled cucumbers.