Yummy panko-crumbed tuna fishcakes with peas and a zesty Asian dipping sauce. Perfect with a well-chilled glass of Leopard's Leap Chardonnay Pinot Noir.

Recipe by Crush.

Serves: 6

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Difficulty: moderate

Miso Mayo

1 C (250 ml) mayonnaise

¼ C (60 ml) miso paste

zest and juice of 1 lime

salt and pepper

Mashed Potato

4 potatoes (roughly 500-600 g)

100 g butter

salt and pepper

Fishcakes

oil to fry

3 tins of flaked tuna in brine, drained very well

3 large eggs, whisked 

cooled mashed potato (roughly 500-600 g)

½ C (125 ml) frozen peas, defrosted

2 Tbsp (30 ml) Chinese Five Spice mix

2 Tbsp (30 ml) chopped pickled ginger

2 red chillies, deseeded and chopped (add 1 if you prefer less spicy)

salt and pepper

Panko Crumb

1 C (250 ml) seasoned flour

3 eggs, whisked

3 C (750 ml) panko bread crumbs

To Serve

1 spring onion, sliced thinly on the diagonal

2 Tbsp (30 ml) sesame seeds, toasted

1 red chilli, sliced (optional)

2 limes, cut into wedges

Miso Mayo

Use a stick blender to blend all of the ingredients for the miso mayo together, taste and adjust seasoning. Note: you can mix by hand but sometimes miso paste needs to be blitzed to be incorporated properly.

Mashed Potato

Place the whole potatoes into a pot and cover with water. Cover with a lid and set over high heat. Boil until tender and cooked all the way through. Remove from the pot and let them cool slightly before peeling using a sharp knife. The reason that they are boiled with the skin on is so that they don’t absorb excess water, which can make the fish cakes fall apart. The drier the potato, the better the fish cake.

Return the peeled potatoes to the pot and mash roughly, then add the butter and mash until mostly smooth. Season to taste, then spread out on a dinner plate to cool.  

Fishcakes

In a large mixing bowl, add all of the ingredients for the fish cakes and mix well to combine.

Panko Crumb

Grease a baking tray and set aside.

Using a scale, portion the fishcake mixture into 50 g balls and then gently flatten into fish cakes. Place the shaped fish cakes onto the greased baking tray. Once all of the cakes have been shaped, pop the tray into the freezer for 20-30 minutes to firm up.

Place the seasoned flour, eggs and panko crumbs into three separate bowls. Coat the fishcakes one at a time; start by dredging in flour with one hand and then dropping into the egg next, using your other hand to coat it. Then lift out, drain the excess egg and drop it into the panko crumbs, using your flour hand to roll it in the crumbs. The idea is that one hand stays wet and one one stays dry, to avoid a clumpy mess. Place the coated fish cake onto a rack and repeat until you've coated all of the fish cakes.

Half fill a large pot or Dutch oven with oil and set it over high heat; heat the oil for deep frying to 180 °C.

Carefully fry the fish cakes in batches of 4-5 for around 2-3 minutes per side or until golden. Drain the fish cakes on some paper towel and season with salt. Repeat until you have fried all of the fish cakes.

To Serve

Garnish the fried fishcakes with sesame seeds, spring onion slices and chilli, if using. Serve with limes wedges for squeezing and miso mayo sauce for dipping.