These simple gluten free Thai salmon cakes make a healthy, tasty quick dinner or lunch! Grain free and dairy free, full of flavour and really easy to make. Using canned salmon and curry paste, they are economical and quick as well.
It’s much easier to prepare a healthy, balanced and delicious meal on the weekend when you’ve had fun at the farmer’s market, collecting your fresh veggies, and set aside your chicken to marinade for a few hours… but this isn’t usually possible in the mid-week hustle!
Rather than give in to takeaway, turn to your staples in the pantry and fridge and whip up these Thai salmon cakes before you hit the speed dial for your local takeaway joint. Grain, gluten, sugar, nut and preservative free, these little Thai salmon cakes pack a nice spicy punch and are super easy to whip up! Serve with whatever veggies you’ve got hiding in the crisper, and perhaps some rice too. Dinner in minutes. This is a very flexible recipe and I encourage you to use whatever you have on hand in the house! There are substitutions in the recipe notes.
If you’re wondering what curry paste I use – I am a huge, huge fan of the Mae Ploy brand of curry pastes. This is not a sponsored post! I have used and enjoyed their red, yellow and green varieties. Probably my favourite flavour is red curry, although honestly I really love the yellow and green too! The yellow is probably the mildest flavour, if you don’t want to make these too spicy.
These Thai salmon cakes can be served with a sauce too, if you like. I’m quite lazy and will often just have them with a splodge of unsweetened coconut yoghurt or natural yoghurt; the cooling nature of yoghurt offsets the spice of the salmon cakes perfectly. They’re also nice finished off with a drizzle of aromatic sesame oil. If you have a little more time, making up a nice creamy tahini salad dressing or a sweet chilli dipping sauce would also be really nice 🙂
Simple Thai Salmon Cakes (Gluten Free)
Ingredients
- 200 grams canned salmon (in springwater)
- 1/2 cup frozen peas thawed
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp Thai curry paste e.g. yellow, red or green curry paste
- coconut oil for frying (or you can use ghee or olive oil)
Seasoning Ingredients - all optional add-ins
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 pinch chilli flakes (dried) - adjust to suit taste preferences
- 1 spring onion trimmed and finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp fresh ginger peeled and finely chopped
Instructions
- Place peas in a mixing bowl and roughly mash with a fork.
- Add salmon, sesame seeds and curry paste to the mashed peas and combine thoroughly. Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl, and then add them to the mix too and combine again.
- Sprinkle over the coconut flour then stir this in. If you are using the other seasoning ingredients listed (i.e. spring onion, ginger, turmeric and chilli) add them in now too.
- Using your hands, gently form the mixture into patties (I usually make 8 small patties) approximately 1 cm thick. If your mixture seems too wet to form into patties try adding a tiny bit more coconut flour, but go easy as the stuff is very absorbent.
- Heat a fry pan up to a medium heat and add a teaspoon of coconut oil. Cook the patties for approximately 4 minutes on each side, they should turn a nice golden brown.
- Serve with a crunchy raw salad and some steamed rice, and drizzle over some sesame oil, tahini and/or natural or coconut yoghurt if you like.
Notes
- Swap the tinned salmon to tinned tuna (tuna in springwater will work best, as I have specified for the salmon);
- Use a 2-3 tablespoons of finely diced red onion to replace the spring onion;
- Add in some fresh or ground coriander for a different seasoning option.
Hi! Is there a substitute for the coconut flour? And what quantity would I use?
Hi Hazel, yes you could use rice flour or plain flour (gluten free if you are gluten free!). I would say try adding 3 tablespoons, just a little more than the recipe indicates as coconut flour is so absorbent compared to other flours. If the mixture is still too wet to shape into patties, add another tablespoon. Let me know how you go 🙂