Haddock Fish Cakes with Yuzu Mayo and Pickled Cabbage. My classic Haddock Fishcake is served with homemade Yuzu Mayonnaise and Pickled White Cabbage, an Asian twist on a traditional recipe. The rich fishcake is complimented well by the tangy mayonnaise and cabbage. I love fishcakes and so created this European/Japanese hybrid.
As always, I am using sustainably sourced Scottish haddock from Peterhead Fish Company for this recipe.
If you haven’t heard of Yuzu, it is a Chinese native fruit that is now often used in Japanese cuisine. You can’t find them in the UK (let me know if I am wrong!) but the juice is fairly easy to source. Just make sure you buy the real 100% juice and not something ‘Yuzu flavoured’ click here to see the juice I used. It can be compared to a lemon/lime juice with under notes of tangerine and grapefruit. It is very sour and works well whisked into a homemade mayonnaise for something a little different than ordinary lemon mayo; and it is a perfect match for this rich and indulgent haddock fishcake.
RECIPE
SERVES 2
DIFFICULTY LEVEL Home Cook
Ingredients
Fishcakes
- 170g peeled potatoes
- 2 large haddock fillets
- 100ml milk
- 2 tablespoons yuzu mayonnaise
- 2 spring onions
- Bunch of fresh dill
- Salt and white pepper
- 1 egg
- 50g plain flour
- 100g of panko breadcrumbs
- Sunflower oil
Yuzu Mayonnaise
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 teaspoon each of white pepper, mustard powder and salt.
- 300ml sunflower oil
- 50ml Yuzu juice
Cabbage Pickle
- 1/4 white cabbage, shredded
- 180ml water
- 200ml white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns
- 2 garlic cloves, bashed
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
Method
1.First make the cabbage pickle. Place the water, vinegar, peppercorns, garlic, sugar and salt in a pan. Bring to the boil and then turn off the heat. Decant the shredded cabbage into a large sterilised (see tips, below) jar, pressing down. Pour over the pickling liquid and leave to cool. Place in the fridge when cool and it will be ready to use within a couple of hours. Will keep for months in the fridge.
2. Make the yuzu mayonnaise. In a food processor, place the egg yolk, white pepper, mustard powder and salt. Pulse until combined and pale in colour. Very gradually, add the oil in drip, by drip. It will thicken to a mayonnaise consistency. Add the yuzu juice and whizz again until combined. Taste and adjust salt, pepper or yuzu juice for your preferences.
3. Now move on to the fishcakes. Roughly chop the potatoes into similar sized chunks and place in a pan of cold, salted water. Bring to the boil and simmer until a knife can easily go through a potato (takes around 8-10 minutes)
4. Drain the potatoes and place back in the pan, keep the heat off.
5. In a frying pan large enough to fit both haddock fillets, place the milk and the fish fillets. Place on a medium heat and allow the milk to come to a simmer. When simmering, turn the haddock fillets over and cook for around 1 minute more. Remove from the heat. The haddock will not be fully cooked through, but they will get cooked again when you fry the fishcakes.
6. Finely chop the spring onions and as much dill as you want. I would recommend around 2 tablespoons. Add both to the potatoes along with the milk you cooked the fish in, yuzu mayonnaise and salt and pepper. Mash until smooth. Stir through the fish gently so it just flakes. This ensures you have big chunks of fish through the fishcakes.
7. Divide the mixture into fishcakes. This should make two large fishcakes, or make four smaller.
8. Grab three plates. In one, add the egg and beat. In the second plate, add the flour. To the third plate, the breadcrumbs.
9. Take each fishcake, coat in the flour, then the egg and then the breadcrumbs. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
10. When ready to cook, place a large frying pan over a medium high heat. Fill the pan around an inch full with sunflower oil and allow to heat for two minutes. Add the fishcakes (they should sizzle) and cook on both sides for around 3-4 minutes until golden brown and crisp on both sides. Remove and drain on kitchen paper.
11. Serve the fishcakes alongside the pickled cabbage and squeeze over your yuzu mayonnaise.
TIPS
- Make it easier: Mix 1 tablespoon of yuzu juice into 100ml mayonnaise and serve with salad or sauerkraut instead of making the pickled cabbage and homemade mayonnaise
- Buy a squeezy bottle for serving the mayonnaise
- To sterilise jars, either wash them in the dishwasher or hand wash before microwaving for 1 minute.
- If you like my Haddock Fish Cakes with Yuzu Mayo and Pickled Cabbage, try my other Seafood Recipes
