Fish Pops on Lemongrass Sticks

Hello again,

When this challenge was published I thought it would be fun to make something where the stick has an extra role other than just being a stick. Since we are talking about food, the next thought was that it should carry a flavor. I love to season lamb shanks with rosemary sprigs stuck into the shank next to the bone but rosemary sprigs are not quite sturdy enough to be considered a stick.

Then I saw a bunch of lemongrass at the local grocery's and I knew that it was just the thing I was looking for.

We all like Thai food, so it was absolutely clear what direction I am taking.

I prepared Thai-ish style fish pops grilled in the oven and roasted tomatoes, quick pickled red onions as side dishes, plus seasoned soy sauce to drizzle on or dip in. It turned out great, full of flavor, the aroma of the lemongrass totally came through in the fish. It is truly easy to make, therefore I strongly recommend to have a go at it.

Also, while making the pops it clicked in my mind what if I deep fried the same mixture?

Total success also, so I am quite sure that it won’t be the last time I made these dishes.

For the fish pops:

• 600 g fish fillet (I used salmon and cod about half and half, but feel free to pick another type of fish. I suggest to go with types that don’t have tiny bones for safety reasons, carp is certainly not an option.)
• 1 mid-sized red onion or 2 shallots (I had these tiny ones coming from the garden)
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 cm piece of fresh ginger
• 1/2 jalapeño pepper (that’s what I had in the fridge, may be replaced by chili)
• Small bunches of the following herbs: basil, cilantro, parsley
• 2 sprigs of mint (about 10 cms each)
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 large egg
• 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs/ panko
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• Lemongrass sticks (this quantity is enough to make 8 large pops, therefore you need 4 of them cut in half)
• Olive oil to drizzle before grilling

For deep frying:

flour, egg, breadcrumbs / panko, sufficient oil for frying (quantities depend on the number of fish balls to be fried)

For the quick pickled red onion:

• 70 ml cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 large/ 2 mid-sized red onions
• Zest of 1 lime
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 teaspoons sumac (optional)
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the roasted tomatoes:

• Cherry tomatoes
• Small bunch of fresh thyme
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the dipping sauce:

• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
• Juice of half a lime
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 jalapeño pepper
• 1 small red onion

Tools:

• cutting board
• tweezer
• sharp knife
• bowls (various sizes)
• parchment paper
• paper towel

Let’s start with the pickled red onion as it needs at least 2-3 hours to get into the perfect condition, but it can also be prepared 12 hours ahead.

Clean the red onions, remove the outer peel and wash. Cut them in half and then into semicircles as thin as possible.

Crush the garlic and chop finely.

Add sugar and salt into the vinegar and stir until combined.

Place onion slices into a small bowl, add all of the ingredients (including seasoned vinegar) and mix.

Let it stand at least 2 hours for the harshness of the onion flavor to disappear. You’ll soon notice that the vinegar gets a beautiful pink color.

Let’s carry on with the main attraction: fish pops.

Prepare fish: wash, pat dry, remove all the bones with a tweezer. It is very important to remove bones with the utmost care. Run your fingers through the fish fillet to make one hundred percent sure that no bones are left.

If you happen to buy fish with the skin on, remove it. Don’t worry, it’s not rocket science. Place the fillet on the cutting board skin side up, grab the corner of the skin and pull gently but firmly. You might have to assist with a thin blade knife every now and then.

Cut fish into tiny pieces (3-4 millimeters cubes approximately). I know it may sound boring and time consuming, but I would not suggest to use a meat grinder or food processor as that way the tender structure of fish could be totally destroyed.

Garlic: crush, remove peel and chop finely

Ginger: remove peel (for me the easiest way is using a spoon) and chop finely

Red onion: remove outer peel and chop finely

Jalapeño: remove seeds (unless you prefer super hot food), cut into thin slices then across into small cubes

Herbs: remove leaves from stems, chop

Add all the ingredients (fish, everything cut and chopped as described in the previous step, a squeeze of lime juice, fish sauce, the egg, breadcrumbs, approximately 1 teaspoon salt and freshly ground pepper) into a bowl and mix thoroughly.

Put it into the fridge for at least two hours. Keeping it in the fridge makes it easier to form patties and balls.

While the fish mixture is sitting in the fridge, there is plenty of time to make the dipping sauce and the roasted tomatoes.

Finely chop the other half of the jalapeño (remove seeds first if you want it to be less hot), chop ginger and red onion.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.

At this point we are very close to the finish line, it's time to heat the oven to 210 degrees Celsius (grill and fan).

While the oven is working its way to reach operating temperature, prepare roasted tomatoes.

Wash and dry tomatoes, cover a baking tray with parchment paper, drizzle with olive oil, place cherry tomatoes on top (l love how they look when they are left on the stem), throw thyme on top, season with salt and pepper.

Gently pat lemongrass with a meat hammer (or any other heavy object) so that the citrus aromas of it are released. Be careful, we don't want to change the shape of them.

Take about 2 tablespoons of the fish mixture and form it into an egg- shape with wet hands. Press the lemongrass into the middle and shape the portions around the lemongrass stems.

Line them up on a baking tray lined with parchment drizzled with olive oil and slightly flatten them. Drizzle a bit of olive oil also on top.

Place the fish pops and the tomatoes in the preheated oven (fish on top rack, tomatoes on middle rack) and bake for about 20 minutes until the fish get golden brown, then take it out and place the tomatoes on the top rack for 3-5 minutes more.

If you wish, save part of the fish mixture to make deep-fried balls.

Put flour and breadcrumbs into two separate plates and an egg into a bowl. Slightly whisk the egg.

Take one tablespoon of the mixture, roll it between your fingers to make it into a ball, Roll each ball into flour, egg, then breadcrumbs (strictly in this order).

Preheat a decent amount of vegetable oil (so that it would almost cover balls) in a deep pan. Submerge fish balls into the hot (but not sizzling hot) oil and fry until golden brown.

Serve fish pops and deep fried balls with roasted tomatoes, pickled red onions and soy-based dipping sauce. Enjoy!