Shrimp Cakes by Rachel

I was inspired to make Thai food the other night and one thing that I love at Thai restaurants are the fish cakes, or "tod mun pla."  I didn't have fish, but I did have shrimp so I ad libbed and they dish came out great.  My shrimp cakes were gone in a matter of minutes.  They were really easy to make, too!

Ingredients (makes about 10-12 small cakes)
10 medium to large size shrimp, raw
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp Sriracha sauce
2 pinches of salt (you can add an extra pinch if you're skipping the Sriracha sauce)
1/2 tsp white pepper
Oil, for frying



- Peel and devein all the shrimp.  Chop the shrimp into small bits, then really hack at it.  You want to chop it until it starts to really look like a paste.

If it looks like this, you're not there yet.  Keep chopping!

- Put the super chopped up shrimp into a bowl and all the flour, salt, Sriracha sauce and white pepper.  Stir until all ingredients are well incorporated.

- Wet your hands and form a small ball in your hand with the mixture.  Keeping your hands wet will prevent the shrimp mixture from sticking to your hands.  Flatten the ball into a small patty.  Repeat until you have used up all of the mixture.

- Fill a pan with oil about 2 inches deep and heat on medium high heat for about 5-6 minutes.  You want the oil to be pretty hot so that when you put in your first patty, it fries the outside quickly.  This will keep your patties from soaking up the oil and becoming heavy.  Once the oil is hot enough, gently place a few patties in the oil at a time to fry.

- Fry for about 2-3 minutes on either side.  Lower the heat if your patties are browning too quickly.  Remove and place on paper towels to cool.

Be careful when you serve these as they can be very hot inside.  A very simple recipe that takes very little time to prepare!  You can enjoy with a sweet and sour sauce or just eat them by themselves.  They make a great snack or appetizer.