Cooking your own meals is one of the greatest weapons you’ve got in your mission to lose weight. You’re in complete control. You don’t need to worry about unlikely health claims made by manufacturers, or give any thought to the legitimacy of that dubious Heart Foundation tick on the packaging. You own the process and you own the outcome.
Speaking of outcomes, when it comes to cooking, I just can’t follow a recipe. I try, but I’ve always gotta change it up and put my own spin on it. The way I see it, a recipe is just useful starting point that might inform a handful of decisions that need to be made. Even baking, which I consider more of a science than its savoury cousin. I still just can’t stick to the recipe. Mostly things work out just fine, but if you ever wanna hear about something that went horribly wrong, ask me about the Russian Layer Cake sometime 🙂
Anyway, I digress.
When the cupboards are bare
This is one of those recipes that comes in handy when you realise you haven’t done the groceries and your choices for tea are pretty limited. Always a dangerous time when you’re looking to lose weight and get fit! The convenience of takeaways starts to look pretty damn enticing, and if you’re anything like me, there’s a good chance you’re dialling the local ‘fush and chup’ shop before ya know it.
A lack of culinary resources is pretty much where this recipe came from, along with a healthy dose of inspiration from this Countdown recipe and that well-used Thai recipe book my Mum gave me years ago. Tuna, eggs and onion were the only things staring back at me from the pantry today. Naturally that screamed spicy tuna cakes!
You can make this with fresh fish but I like the idea of this budget friendly version, since so many people are tellin’ me it’s too expensive to eat healthy. Which is rubbish by the way.
As an added bonus, these Tuna Cakes are an excellent source of protein and low in carbohydrates. Which is great for those of us trying to build some muscle.
Spicy Tuna Cakes
Serves 2-4, making 8 thick patties
INGREDIENTS:Â
- 500g tuna (in spring water)
- 1-2 eggs
- 1/2 a red onion, roughly chopped
- 1/2 a white onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
- 75mls coconut cream
- 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon seasame oil
- 2 teaspoons tumeric
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon gound ginger
- lemon or lime juice
- freshly ground salt and pepper
- fresh coriander
- coconut oil for frying
DIRECTIONS:
Step 1: Drain the tuna and set aside. You wanna get the tuna as dry as you possibly can.
Step 2: Roughly chop the white onion and fry it in a little coconut oil over a medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. You want the onion to be tender and slightly caramelised. Throw in the chopped garlic for the last 2 minutes. Put the onion and garlic into a blending jug.
Step 3: Finely dice the red onion, cook it in the same pan and set aside.
Step 4: In the blending jug with your onion and garlic, add the tumeric, chili powder, coconut cream, lemon juice, seasame oil, ginger, coriander, oyster sauce, salt and pepper. Blitz into a smooth paste.
Step 5: In a large mixing bowl add the tuna and red onion and mix together. Season with a little salt and pepper, add a little extra chopped coriander and then mix in the spice paste. Mix well. Crack an egg into the mixture and combine. Add a second egg if you think the mixture is too dry, but 1 egg should be fine.
Step 6: Heat a non-stick pan over a medium heat and add some coconut oil. Shape your mixture into patties and fry each side for about 5-6 minutes or until dark golden.
Serve with a crisp, fresh garden salad and enjoy!
Let me know how it goes.
-Shane
