The rich strong flavours of oriental food form the perfect accompaniment to smoked fish. If either one is accompanied by something less robust, then the secondary element risks becoming lost or overpowered. A well executed dish aims to strike a balance between all components. Haddock and Thai-paste are therefore a match made in heaven!

Don’t be put off by the seeming complexity of this dish. It’s actually very simple and straightforward. Like a lot of low-carb dishes it’s quick to cook and 100% diabetic-friendly. Take the chilli-levels as high as you dare for a little extra punch. I was also ‘generous’ with the wasabi. Condiments are pretty scarce on a ketogenic-diet, so grab the chance when you can!

Start by making the fishcakes. Roughly chop your haddock and mix this with a can of drained tuna. Finely dice chilli, coriander stalk, lemongrass and a clove of garlic, then add these to the fish-mix. Season well and stir in a beaten egg. Using your hands, thoroughly combine the ingredients and form into balls, squeezing out any excess liquid. Fishcakes are far harder to make without flour or potato, so simply press them into submission. The egg will hopefully do the job of holding them all together.

Shallow fry the fishcakes in hot oil for a minute on each side until nicely browned. Then place onto a baking-tray and oven bake for 15 minutes.

Whilst the fishcakes are in the oven, microwave fresh or frozen spinach. After a minute or so, crumble in a chicken stock-cube, finely sliced chilli and a crushed clove of garlic. Grind in pepper and salt and put back into the microwave for a further 2 minutes or so, until the spinach is piping hot and cooked down. Fresh spinach will obviously be far quicker than frozen.

Serve the spinach onto plates, top with radish for colour and a small sprinkle of parmesan for richness. Take the fishcakes out of the oven and serve alongside the spinach. Add a generous dollop of mayonnaise and a good squeeze of wasabi. Finally squeeze a lemon-wedge over the lot and garnish with ripped coriander-leaves.

I also added a couple of quails eggs and steamed French beans. This is simply because I needed to use them up (I hate wasting food!!!!) but the recipe certainly doesn’t need them.

Mix a little wasabi with the mayonnaise prior to each mouthful. That way, your taste-buds receive the full onslaught of flavours all in one go!

Need I say it…? Delicious!

Thanks for reading and bon ap!

Adam.