Hi Kim,

I found a recipe for a type of homemade fish cake in "At Home with Japanese Cooking" by Elizabeth Andoh (1980, out of print). The fish cakes were made into dumplings for Oden.

The basic fish paste recipe is:

1/2 pound white-meat fish fillets
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1-1/2 tablespoons beaten egg
scant 1/2 teaspoon salt

Coarsely chop fish fillets, feed them into a food processor or blender, and process until it forms a smooth, glossy mass. Add flour and cornstarch and process again. Add egg and salt and process a third time.

With oiled hands, form about 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons of the fish paste into a small patty. Heat oil for deep-frying to medium temperature (300 to 325 degrees F) and fry the patties a few at a time, until golden and cooked through. Drain on paper towels.

In the Oden recipe, these were filled with other ingredients, such as gobo or shrimp, before frying. They were then simmered in the Oden.

Susan, Hawaii