Ingredients

• 500g/1lb 2oz skinned and pin-boned halibut fillet
• chopped
• 1 tbsp Thai fish sauce
• 1 dessertspoon Thai red curry paste
• 1 kaffir lime leaf
• finely sliced
• 1 thumb-sized piece galangal
• chopped finely
• 1 stick lemongrass (the soft bit only)
• finely sliced
• 1 coriander root and leaves
• chopped
• 1 free-range egg
• 1 tsp grated palm sugar
• 50g/1¾oz snake beans
• sliced thinly (alternatively use French beans)
• ½ lime
• juice only
• plain flour
• for dusting
• 3 tbsp groundnut oil
• for shallow frying
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp clear honey
• ½ lime
• juice only
• 1 tbsp Thai fish sauce
• 100g/3½oz cucumber
• skinned
• cored and diced
• 50g/1¾oz carrot
• finely diced
• 1 shallot
• finely diced
• 2 birds’-eye chillies
• seeds removed (if liked)
• sliced thinly
• banana leaves
• lamb’s lettuce

Directions

• For the fish cakes
• place the fish
• fish sauce
• red curry paste
• lime leaf
• galangal
• lemongrass
• coriander root
• egg
• palm sugar
• beans
• and lime juice in a food processor and blend to a paste. Alternatively this can be done in a pestle and mortar – pound the ingredients to a jelly-like paste.
• Remove and
• with damp hands
• take a piece about the size of a walnut. Roll it into a ball and then flatten it to a thin disc. Lay on a floured plate. Repeat until all the mixture has been used. Refrigerate until ready to cook.
• For the dip
• beat together the vinegar
• honey
• two tablespoons of water
• the lime juice and fish sauce. Taste and adjust the honey and lime juice to get it sweeter or sourer
• however you want it. Add the cucumber
• carrot
• shallot and chilli. Leave for 30 minutes to an hour for the flavours to develop.
• Heat the groundnut oil in a frying pan and cook the fish cakes until golden-brown all over – this should take a couple of minutes on either side.
• Serve on a banana leaf with the sauce in a dish to one side. Garnish with the lamb’s lettuce.