Recipe(tried): fish cake

kim,

i can't give you the exact amount for this recipe asthis is the kind of the recipes that you have to do it and test as you go... we make homemade fish ball/cake all the time coz like you said, it's difficult to find good quality commercial ones these days (in the west). our major concern isn't the quality. it's the preservatives (might or might not be added) that's in the products (in malaysia.)

my mother-in-law taught me how to do it but i am VERY BAD in making it from scratch to be honest as i am used to buy the homemade one (back in Taiwan) or the commercial ones (in oz.) here is the rough guide...

you take some oily white fish i.e. mackarel. deboned it and use the back of a kinfe (may be ok in the food processor but not too sure) to mash the flesh till rather fine. put the meat in a strong (metal) deep bowl (cup) and add in some salt, white pepper powder, water(or egg white or both) & TAPIOCA flour (no other will do. have tried cornflour but didn't work as well.) the water + flour as to be added bit by bit as you stir the lot with a pair of chopsticks (can't work with a fork. tried and failed. have no idea why!) must stir this in the same direction either clock/counter-clock wise. (very tiring but you must keep stirring it. rest for awhile if you must... this will take time. the mixture should be spongy at the end.

put some water in a small pot and bring it to the boil. use a spoon dipped in water and take some fish mixture to form a ball and cook it in teh boiling water. try it (eat) to see if it's spongy enough. if not, you must continue stirring it till it has gotten the texture you wanted.

then it's done. this can be made into virtually anything you want just by adding carrots, spring onions and etc. we noramlly break couple of eggs and put some fish "lumps" and some finely chopped spring onions int the eggs. season this with soy sauce and make rather nice patties to eat with porridges or rice.

best to let it set in teh fridge for at least an hour before using. for some reason this makes the teuxture smoother and silky.

good luck and happy weekend!