If the only protein you have is a can of tuna, you won't go hungry. You can make simple dishes with canned tuna such as pasta, a dry fry up, sandwiches of course and today's dish, tuna cutlets.
Ingredients:
2 cans tuna flakes in water
1 medium size potato
1 small onion - chopped
2 cm ginger - chopped
2 green / red chillis - deseed and chop
1 egg (separate the yoke from the white)
1 cup bread crumbs
salt
1 tsp pepper
oil to fry
kitchen paper towels
optional - chopped fresh coriander leaves
Method:
Boil the potato and when cooked through, remove skin and roughly mash up in a large bowl.
Thoroughly drain the tuna from its water, before adding it to the potato mash.
Drop in the chopped onions, ginger and chillis. If you are using coriander then add it in as well.
Add the pepper and salt to taste, as well as the egg yoke (which acts as a binder).
Use your fingers and mix it up. Try not to overwork the mixture.
Now slightly dampen your hands and take a small ball of the mixture - golf ball size. You don't want to make the balls too large or it may not cook through evenly.
Gently roll the tuna balls into a tight round ball. If the balls are too loose it will break up during frying.
Keep dampening your hands as this helps you form smooth balls. Just don't make it wet.
Once all the mixture has been 'balled up', heat up a flat frying pan with enough oil to cover the balls during frying.
In the meantime, beat up the egg white in a bowl and in another bowl, pour in the bread crumbs.
Take a ball, and slightly flatten it bearing in mind to keep the mixture intact. You can actually miss this step and maintain it as tuna balls.
Dip into the egg white mixture and then into the bread crumbs. Be sure to coat each cutlet well. Keep aside.
Once the oil is hot, lower the heat to medium and then gently slide the cutlets in. Do not overcrowd the pan as you want enough space between each cutlet to allow it to cook well.
Cook each side for about 2-3 minutes. When the cutlets turn a nice brown you know they are done.
Remove and drain on kitchen paper towels.
Continue with the rest of your cutlet mixture.
I usually move the fried cutlets several times onto new paper towels to ensure that most of the oil is absorbed.
These cutlets can be served as appetisers, snacks or with rice and curry.
Note:
You can replace the canned tuna with fresh fish - the best are 'ikan parang' (beware of a million tiny bones) or 'tenggiri' (mackerel, which is easier to use as it has very little bones). You will need to steam the fish (don't season it before steaming) and once done and cooled down, remove all the bones by shredding the fish with your fingers to make it flaky.
Continue with the recipe as above.
This recipe was featured in The Star, Eats section on 20 August 2023: https://www.thestar.com.my/food/food-news/2024/08/20/tuna-cutlets
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