Fish and Prawn Cakes

A blink of an eye and I have been in Australia for 12++ years. Pretty much an adolescent in terms of developmental growth. Yes, I have grown to adore the place that I met and fell in love, established a home and married. It's a little scary to know that one day, I will spend more time in this country than my hometown.

During this period of time, I continued to stay in contact with my closest and dearest friends. I recall that we had chats on ICQ (I presume it no longer exists!!), and hand write letters and cards to each other. I brought along an autograph book with all the profiles of my friends and read them whenever I felt homesick. It graduated to text messages and of course emails. And now, it's whatsapp and skype/facetime.

Technology keeps us close. I never felt they are too far away. One of my best buddies and I often chat on email on what kind of quick lunches she can prepare and the outcome of one of those emails was these fish and prawn cakes.

I grew bored of grilled fish and thought of blending snapper with some prawns. The result was a bouncy tasty fish cake! I was so pleased with it. I seasoned it with spring onions, chopped chili and salt and pepper. Egg and some almond meal was used to bind it together. Nothing fancy but it reminded me of home.

Fish and Prawn Cakes (makes 12)
400 grams of white snapper
300 grams of shelled tiger prawns
1/4 cup of almond meal
3 springs of spring onion chopped
2 red chili padi chopped
1 egg
salt and pepper

Blitz all together. Shape into patties. Heat oil on pan and fry both sides till brown.

Grilled Salmon with Ginger Soy Soba Noodles

I'm not sure if quick cooking this summer is a reflection of my impatience of wanting to spend less time in the kitchen or wanting to experiment making good food in the least amount of time.

I have to confess that it has been challenging managing time and cooking for the last two months. With increased responsibilities and a desire to achieve our goals suddenly meant that cooking has taken a back foot. It's a tad scary, as cooking as always been a staple in my life (or since I decided to cook seriously!). Now however, creating a fitter me seem to be the focus.

Have you ever let anything distract you from cooking?

I am very fond of this dish as it is incredibly quick to do but so delish. The noodles in particular tasted better the next day. I am pretty sure I adapted this from reading Donna Hay and possibly even Taste app. I have changed a few things of course like more chill, more soy and added toasted sesame seeds when grilling the salmon.

I have in my hurry, overcooked my salmon- usually it's light pink in the middle. Nevertheless, I think the noodles are the winner. I think it's something I will bring to a pot luck,gathering or serve in a bbq party setting.

Grilled Salmon with Ginger Soy Soba Noodles (Serves 4)
4 slices of fresh salmon
1 packet of Soba noodles
Shredded carrot- I used 1
1 red capsicum sliced finely
1 bunch of brocallini

Dressing
1/3 cup of soy sauce
2 chii padi
knob of fresh grated ginger
1 tsp of garlic
2 tablespoons of miring
1/2 tsp of sugar

Grilled Salmon with a little oil. Cook till pink in the middle. Set aside and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Mean while cook noodles using packet directions. When the water is boiling, quickly add brocallini.

Shake dressing in a jar. Toss warm drained noodles/carrots/capsicum/brocallini with dressing. Serve with Salmon on top.