These Vegan Fish or Fishless Cakes are inspired by Thai fish cakes. I paired these with sweet chilli sauce for dipping and with an added tang from the squeeze of lime.
THESE VEGAN FISH CAKES ARE:
- Really perfect as is (as a finger food!) with some sweet chili sauce or your sauce of choice
- Crisp on the outside with soft somewhat 'fleshy' textured bite from the banana heart/blossom
- Something you can cook by deep-frying or pan-frying (for less oil)
BANANA HEARTS OR PUSO NG SAGING
I used fresh banana blossom/hearts, which we call “puso ng saging” in Filipino. Puso is heart in Filipino, while saging is banana. We have access to fresh bananas and banana hearts all year round, so fresh banana hearts are much easier to come by than canned banana hearts.
I love the texture of banana hearts, and a lot of local vegan brands use these to replicate the meaty texture in food such as ‘chick’n’ nuggets. For this recipe, I wanted to use these to make some ‘fishless’ cakes.
PREPARING THE BANANA HEARTS OF BLOSSOM
IF USING FRESH BANANA HEARTS/BLOSSOM
Peel and remove the outer layers of the the banana heart until you reach the fleshy centre that is a pale yellow in colour. Slice into half and then into wedges.
The insides of fresh banana blossom has a 'stickiness' to it that can stain surfaces, so just make sure to wash your knife and board/surface well and use one that you're okay to get stained (just in case!)
You can watch the video below for a complete step-by-step.
Remove the tough stem. Slice into half then into wedges.
Chop into thin shreds and then roughly chop from there until you have small diced pieces. You can also quickly process your banana hearts in a food processor if you'd like.
SALT AND RINSING BANANA HEART/PUSO NG SAGING
From here, you can place the banana heart or puso ng saging in a strainer with a catch basin. Add a generous amount of coarse salt or rock salt (around 1 tbsp) to coat the sliced banana heart. Leave it to sit for 15-20 minutes until it releases some liquid. Squeeze out the liquid and then wash through running water. This helps wash out any bitterness.
I actually didn't do this step since I deep-fried my cakes but this salting and rinsing step if essential if you're going to enjoy your banana heart plain such as in stir-fried dishes or ginataan (coconut milk-based dishes).
COOKING DOWN THE FRESH BANANA HEART/BLOSSOM
NOTE: this part is essential if you're using fresh banana heart. This helps soften it and release some of its liquid. You can skip the cooking part if using canned banana heart/blossoms.
Heat a large wok or pan over medium high heat. Add in some neutral oil. Sauté the minced/diced banana blossom with 1 tsp salt over medium to medium high heat for 4-5 minutes. This is to get rid of any excess water. The banana blossom will change from a pale yellow colour to a light grey shade is it cooks. Once it’s tender and has decreased in size, turn off the heat.
If using canned banana blossom: drain the banana from the liquid/water. Chop these into small minced/diced pieces and then squeeze out any excess liquid.
PREPARING THE MIXTURE FOR THE VEGAN 'FISH' CAKES
In a large bowl, place the flour, baking powder, seaweed powder or cut up nori sheets, salt, and pepper. Mix well. Add in the block of extra tofu and then mash with a fork.
I no longer pressed my tofu since the liquid will help bind everything together as well.
If using canned banana blossom, you can skip the water. If using fresh banana blossom, pour in around 1/4 cup of water first and mix to create a very thick batter. The water from the tofu will also help bring the mixture together.
Add in the banana blossom/heart into the mixture and mix until well incorporated.
Mix everything together.
If your tofu is a bit dry, feel free to add 1-2 tbsp more water and mix well.
The best way to test if the mixture is good is to shape some into a ball with your hands. If it holds up well, then it’s good.
If the mixture is too wet, feel free to add 1-2 tbsp or more of flour and mix well. This will help shape the cakes and hold up better.
SHAPING THE CAKES
I simple formed a ball before flattening it down into a small cake, that's around 1" (2.5cm) thick.
COATING THE CAKES
I prepared a bowl of bread crumbs. I used Japanese bread crumbs or panic bread crumbs. If looking for a GF alternative, you can use some ground oatmeal or even some desiccated coconut, to coat the cakes.
These vegan fishless cakes are ready to be cooked!
COOKING THE VEGAN FISH CAKES
You can either:
- Deep fry OR
- Pan-fry your cakes
DEEP-FRYING
Heat a large pan or wok over high heat. Add enough neutral oil to submerge the cakes. If pan-frying, you can use a skillet or cast iron pan and add enough oil to coat the surface of the pan.
Once hot, test out the oil by placing some bread crumbs. If the bread crumbs immediately sizzle then it’s good to go. It’s important for the oil to be very hot (~380F) so the cakes crisp up and won’t absorb the oil as it cooks.
Carefully add a few cakes at a time (depending on the size of your pan/wok) and them fry until golden brown and crisp for 1-2 minutes and flip over to cook the remaining side to a golden brown crisp.
Drain the cakes from the oil and then repeat for the rest of the cakes. Do not turn off the heat of your pan/wok and do not lower the heat while you’re cooking since sudden change in temperate can cause the cakes to absorb the oil.
If pan-frying, this can take a bit longer depending on the amount of oil. You’ll want to cook each side until it’s golden brown and crisp.
SERVE AND ENJOY YOUR FISHLESS CAKES
To enjoy these vegan fishless cakes, you can prepare some sweet chili sauce or other dipping sauce of your choice. It's also great with a squeeze of some lime juice!
Find the full recipe for these below!
OTHER VEGAN RECIPES YOU MIGHT ENJOY:
Vegan Fishless Cakes
Ingredients
Banana Heart
- 1 large banana heart/blossom , makes 475g fresh chopped banana heart (SEE NOTES)
- Neutral oil for cooking
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
Cakes
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour or other flour of choice (plus more as needed, SEE NOTES)
- 1/2 tbsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp nori flakes see notes
- 1/2 - 1 tsp salt see notes
- Dash ground pepper
- 250 g extra firm tofu see notes
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup water see notes
Coating
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs or more as needed
For Frying
- Neutral oil for frying
To Serve
- Lime Juice
- Sweet chili sauce
Instructions
- You can watch the video below to see the complete step-by-step on how to make these cakes. You can also check the photos above.
Banana Heart
- Skip to the last step if using canned banana hearts. See notes for more tips.
- If using fresh banana heart/blossom: Peel and remove the outer layers of the the banana heart until you reach the fleshy centre that is a pale yellow in colour. Slice into half and then into wedges. Chop into thin shreds and then roughly chop from there until you have small diced pieces. You can also quickly process your banana hearts in a food processor.
- Salt and soaking fresh banana heart (optional): you can place the banana heart or puso ng saging in a strainer with a catch basin. Add a generous amount of coarse salt or rock salt (around 1 tbsp) to coat the sliced banana heart. Leave it to sit for 15-20 minutes until it releases some liquid. Squeeze out the liquid and then wash through running water. This helps wash out any bitterness.I actually didn't do this step since I deep-fried my cakes but this salting and rinsing step if essential if you're going to enjoy your banana heart plain such as in stir-fried dishes or ginataan (coconut milk-based dishes).
- Cooking the fresh banana heart: Heat a large wok or pan over medium high heat. Add in some neutral oil. Sauté the minced/diced banana blossom with 1 tsp salt over medium to medium high heat for 4-5 minutes. This is to get rid of any excess water. The banana blossom will change from a pale yellow colour to a light grey shade is it cooks. Once it’s tender and has decreased in size, turn off the heat.
- If using canned banana blossom: drain the banana from the liquid/water. Chop these into small minced/diced pieces and then squeeze out any excess liquid. You can skip the cooking process for canned banana blossom/heart.
Cakes
- In a large bowl, place the flour, baking powder, nori flakes or cut up nori sheets, salt, and pepper. Mix well. Add in the block of tofu and then mash with a fork.
- If using canned banana blossom, you can skip the water. If using fresh banana blossom, pour in around 1/4 cup of water first and mix to create a very thick batter. The water from the tofu will also help bring the mixture together. Add in the banana blossom/heart into the mixture and mix until well incorporated.
- If your tofu is a bit dry, feel free to add 1-2 tbsp more water and mix well The best way to test if the mixture is good is to shape some into a ball with your hands. If it holds up well, then it’s good.
- If the mixture is too wet, feel free to add 1-2 tbsp or more of flour and mix well. This will help shape the cakes and hold up better.
Coating
- Place some bread crumbs in a large bowl or plate. Get a golf ball-size amount of the cake mixture and then lightly pat it down with your palms to create a small cake, around 2” in diameter and 1” thick. Transfer the cake to the bread crumb mix and coat with breadcrumbs. I like to use one hand for the wet mixture and my other dry hand for the bread crumbs to keep things clean.
- Repeat this until you have all the cakes coated in the bread crumbs.
Cooking the Cakes
- Heat a large pan or wok over high heat. Add enough neutral oil to submerge the cakes. If pan-frying, you can use a skillet or cast iron pan and add enough oil to coat the surface of the pan.
- Once hot, test out the oil by placing some bread crumbs. If the bread crumbs immediately sizzle then it’s good to go. It’s important for the oil to be very hot (~380F) so the cakes crisp up and won’t absorb the oil as it cooks.
- Carefully add a few cakes at a time (depending on the size of your pan/wok) and them fry until golden brown and crisp for 1-2 minutes and flip over to cook the remaining side to a golden brown crisp.
- If pan-frying, this can take a bit longer depending on the amount of oil. You’ll want to cook each side until it’s golden brown and crisp.
- Drain the cakes from the oil and then repeat for the rest of the cakes. Do not turn off the heat of your pan/wok and do not lower the heat while you’re cooking since sudden change in temperate can cause the cakes to absorb the oil.
To Serve
- Serve your cake while still hot and crispy with a squeeze of lime and dip in some sweet chili sauce or dipping sauce of your choice. Enjoy!
WATCH Video
Notes
Banana hearts or blossom
- Feel free to use 1 can or 450g (1lb) banana hearts. Make sure to drain these from the liquid well. Since these are much tender than fresh banana blossom, you can skip the cooking process and proceed to chopping these finely before mixing with the tofu and the flour mixture.
Extra Firm Tofu
- I no longer pressed the tofu since the moisture of the tofu helps to bind everything together with the flour. But if you’ve pressed your tofu, it’s perfect fine too!
I would NOT recommend using silken tofu for this recipe as this can turn out too wet.
Water
- If using canned banana hearts/blossom, you can lessen the water as needed since these are already moist from the liquid in the can. You can mix everything first before adding the water to see if it needs more added moisture.
Flour
- The flour here acts as the binder. Feel free to use any flour of your choice.
- If the mixture is too wet and doesn’t hold up very well, feel free to add more flour to bind everything together so you can easier shape these into small patties or balls.
Nori Flakes & Salt
- Seaweed helps give this that 'fishy' flavour.
- I purchased nori flakes that are very small seaweed flakes (similar to the size of nutritional yeast). If you don’t have these in powder/flakes form, feel free to cut up nori sheets you have at home into small strips or even very small squares.
- Salt: some nori flakes are seasoned so you will need to adjust the salt to your taste since it may come out too salty if the seaweed is already salted.
NUTRITIONAL INFO
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I had bought canned banana blossom and didn’t know what to make with them, so was so glad when I saw your recipe. I did the method of cutting up a Nori sheet for the Nori flakes and I pan fried the fishless cakes. The recipe was so clear to follow and the cakes were really good. If you liked fish cakes before going vegan/veggie, this recipe is for you. Literally all your recipes have been awesome. Thank you x
Thanks so much Susan, glad you liked it ◡̈
I had used fresh banana blossom. OH. MY. GOD. I didn’t expect them to come SO AMAZING! I was non vegetarian a few years ago. I did not miss meat but I was badly missing the dishes. Especially my mom’s fish cakes. This recipe tasted just like my mom’s and WE ALL LOVED IT!! Thank you!
So so happy to hear this hehe. Glad you enjoyed it ◡̈
I have tried making it before but I didnot cook the puso first, so it was like uncooked. I tried it last weekend using your recipe so glad that my husband and daughter enjoyed it. Thank you Jeeca. I will try your other dishes.????
Thank you and happy you guys enjoyed it 🙂
So excited to try this recipe. Can you freeze these?
Hi Vikki! I recommend to freeze them after cooking. Then you can just reheat them from the freezer over a pan or in the oven. ◡̈
Love it 😀 I’ve previously made beer-battered ‘fish’ and ‘fish’ pie using canned banana blossom, but these fish cakes are by far my favourite! Easy to make. I blended up some stale bread and lightly grilled it to make breadcrumbs, then I put the prepared fishcakes in the freezer. When I want to eat one, I take it out of the freezer and pop it in the airfryer for 15 minutes – perfect!
Such a great way to use up that stale bread!! And thanks so much for leaving a review, really appreciate it! ◡̈