We never finish a block of tofu in one meal, so often have a bit of frozen tofu on hand. As I mentioned in a previous post, tofu keeps well in the freezer – and after you thaw it, squeeze the water out of it, and crumble it, you’re left with a chewy, porous protein that absorbs flavors well.
One thing I’ve been meaning to try with it for a while is something similar to Thai fish cakes, and I made my first attempt at that this weekend.
The result was a bit too bready, and the flavors were less strong than I like them, so this recipe isn’t quite ready for company yet – but it did make for a tasty, hearty lunch, and went well with sliced cucumber (tossed in rice vinegar, honey, red pepper & cilantro dressing with a pinch of salt).
Thai tofu cakes (serves 2)
Ingredients
- 8 oz tofu, frozen, thawed, squeezed then crumbled (see image below)
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce (or soy sauce)
- 2 Tbsp grated ginger
- 1 tsp red curry paste
- 2 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 Serrano pepper, seeded and finely chopped
- 1 scallion, finely sliced
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- About 12 Tbsp panko or fine breadcrumbs
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil
- 1 lime
- 4 Tbsp Thai sweet chili sauce
Directions
- Toss tofu with fish sauce, grated ginger, and red curry paste.
- Add in the cilantro, Serrano pepper, scallion and eggs, and mix well.
- Mix in the breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is sticky enough to form patties.
- Make 4 patties, and place them in the fridge for 10 minutes, to allow them to set.
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.
- Cook patties until they are golden brown – about three minutes per side.
- Serve hot, with Thai sweet chili sauce.
Tofu: frozen, thawed, squeezed and crumbled
222 million tons 
This looks way yum. I regularly make salmon, butter bean and black bean cakes (three separate recipes, if that’s not clear) and am definitely ready for a new recipe in this arena. I always end up adding too much breadcrumbs too.
Next time I’ll try halving the eggs & breadcrumbs, and doubling the fish sauce, ginger, curry paste, cilantro and Serrano pepper. If it all manages to stick together, think the dish will be ready for prime time.
Delicious! I have half a cake in the fridge that I need to do something with. Might have to experiment with some substitution though…
Let me know what you try, and how it works out.
Looks fab, Jean-Francois. I always have these ingredients to hand so will give these a go. We are big pan-Asian food fans in the food to glow house and are always looking for such recipes. Cheers! PS Is your recipe adjusted to how you will make it next time, or should we reduce the crumbs in this one?
The recipe is what I did … so will try with one egg and fewer breadcrumbs next time. That will make the flavorings stand out more, though you may still want to add a touch more fish sauce, ginger, curry paste and cilantro.
Been getting more in to incorporating tofu into my diet! This recipe looks delicious! Will have to try it!
It’s a great, versatile ingredient – and good for you. We do miss the Japanese version, though, so will try to recreate that at home when I get back to the US next month. We’ll definitely share what we learn (or fail to learn) then.
MUST try this!! It looks so appetizing!!
Once you start playing with Thai ingredients, it’s hard to go wrong. I must confess, at this point, the version I make with fish is much better, but I’ll keep working on this version. It’s getting harder and harder to justify eating fish.