Fragrant Fried Fish Cakes

These Javanese fish cakes are flavored with coconut, spices and shallots, and can be prepared several hours in advance and kept refrigerated before the final deep-frying.



Ingredients:
1 cup (100 g) freshly grated coconut or 1 cup (80 g) unsweetened desiccated coconut
1 lb (500 g) white fish fillets, skinned and cut into chunks
2 eggs
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (250 ml) thick coconut milk oil, for deep-frying
1 portion Pickled Shallots (see our sambal recipe categories) to serve
½ portion Sambal Soto (see our sambal recipe categories) to serve


Spice Paste
2 candlenuts, roughly chopped
½ in (1 cm) fresh galangal, peeled and sliced
½ in (1 cm) fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
3 shallots, peeled
2 cloves garlic, peeled


Cooking Directions

1. Prepare the Pickled Shallots and Sambal Soto by following the recipes on sambal recipes categories
2. Dry-fry the grated coconut in a skillet over low heat, stirring constanly until  golden brown, about 10 10 minutes for fresh coconut to burn. Set aside to cool in a small bowl.
3. Make the Spice Paste by grinding all the ingredients in a mortar or blender, adding a little oil if necessary  to keep the mixture turning.  Add the fish chunks and grind until fine.
4. Place the ground mixture in a large bowl. Add the eggs, sugar and salt, and mix well . shape the mixture into small balls, then flatten with your palm and shape them into patties.
5. Heat the oil in a wok and deep-fry the patties until cooked and golden brown on all sides, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels , serve hot with serving bowls of the Pickled Shallots and Sambal Soto on the side.

Source : indonesianfoodrecipe.com