Tod mun—Thai fish cakes—are usually made with mackerel or other dark-fleshed fish, but shrimp are just as good, and most of my friends seem to prefer them made this way. Both mackerel and shrimp have enough natural gelatin to hold together without egg or bread crumbs or mashed potatoes or any of the other binders necessary in so many fish cakes. In fact, they have so much natural gelatin that if you over process the fish it becomes rubbery, which in fact is characteristic of tod mun. My little trick—of pureeing some of the fish and simply chopping the rest—keeps it a little softer; you can do it either way. If you make these with shrimp, they can also be grilled. See page 500 for information on Thai fish sauce (nam pla).

　　

Ingredients

makes 6 or more servings

　　1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish

　　1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, or to taste

　　1 large shallot, roughly chopped

　　1 garlic clove, peeled

　　2 tablespoons nam pla or soy sauce

　　One 1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

　　2 limes

　　1 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled, or 1 1/2 pounds skinned mackerel fillet

　　Corn, grapeseed, or other neutral oil for frying

　　

Step 1

Put the cilantro, hot pepper, shallot, garlic clove, nam pla, ginger, and juice and zest of 1 lime in a food processor. Process until the mixture is pureed, stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary. Add a third to half of the shrimp or mackerel and puree; add the remaining fish and pulse just until chopped and combined.

　　

Step 2

Put 1/4 inch of oil in a large skillet (you can use less if you use a nonstick skillet) and turn the heat to medium-high. Shape the mixture into small balls or 4 or 8 burger like patties. When the oil shimmers, cook the patties until browned on both sides, a total of about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, quarter the remaining lime.

　　

Step 3

Serve the fish cakes with the lime wedges, garnished with the remaining cilantro.

　　

Shrimp Cakes, Indian Style

Step 4

Follow the same procedure, omitting the lime juice and zest but using the cilantro, hot red pepper flakes, and shallot as above, along with 3 garlic cloves, peeled, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, and 1 tablespoon any curry powder or garam masala (see pages 592–594).

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.