Asian Fish Cakes With Sweet Chile Dipping Sauce

From Susie's Supper Club. Her Notes are: These toothsome but light, zesty cakes are a great way to get everyone to like fish. You can vary the ingredient amounts in the sauce to your taste; try adjusting the garlic or ginger to bring out different flavors. Susie’s Tip: These cakes freeze beautifully for up to 2 months, so make a bunch ahead of time and have them on hand for a play date that goes into dinnertime.

• Ready In: 20 mins
• Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 2  lbs cod fish fillets, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2  large eggs
• 1⁄2 cup panko breadcrumbs, plus 1 cup for dredging
• 1⁄4 cup  finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 4  green onions, white and tender green parts only, thinly sliced
• 2  tablespoons  peeled and grated fresh ginger
• 1  tablespoon lime zest
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1⁄2 teaspoon fish sauce
• 2  teaspoons kosher salt
• 1  teaspoon fresh ground pepper
•  canola oil (for frying)

• Sweet Chile Dipping Sauce

• 1  cup mayonnaise
• 2  tablespoons  thai sweet chili sauce
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 2  tablespoons  peeled and grated fresh ginger
• 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

1. Make the Dipping Sauce: In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir to mix well. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. Make the Fish Cakes: Put the fish in a food processor and pulse just until uniformly minced, about 10 times. Be careful not to overprocess or the fish will turn into a paste. Transfer to a large bowl and add the eggs, the 1/2 cup bread crumbs, the cilantro, green onions, ginger, lime zest, garlic, fish sauce, salt, and pepper. Using your hands or a rubber spatula, gently fold and toss the ingredients together until well combined.
3. In a nonstick frying pan, heat a splash of oil over medium-high heat. Pinch off a small piece of the fish mixture and fry until cooked through, about 1 minute. Taste and adjust the seasoning of the remaining fish mixture if needed.
4. Place the 1 cup bread crumbs in a shallow dish. Shape the fish mixture into cakes about 2 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. Coat each cake thoroughly with the bread crumbs, shaking off the excess.
5. Line a rimmed baking sheet with paper towels. Pour oil to a depth of 1/2 inch into the frying pan and heat until hot and shimmering but not smoking. Working in batches as needed to avoid crowding, add the cakes, placing them about 1 inch apart, and fry, turning once, until golden brown and crispy, 2–3 minutes per side. Transfer to the paper towels to drain and season with salt while still warm.
6. Transfer the cakes to a platter or individual plates and serve. Pass the dipping sauce at the table.