Uncle says this recipe is the best one. I got this from the Hilo Women’s Country cookbook. They must have good cooks over in Hilo. When Uncle catches oio, I make fishcake, but first he has the harder job of skinning, then spooning the meat off the fish. I then go in with my hands and fingers and pick out any bones he may have missed. Uncle says he doesn’t mind the bits of bones. How can that be? I think it must be true that men are from Mars. Us Venusians want bone-less fishcake.
Fishcake
3 cups fish meat scraped or ground (awa or oio)
1 cup cornstarch
6 tsp salt
6 Tblsp sugar
1/2 tsp ajinomoto
3 eggs
3 1/2 cup fish stock or chicken broth or water
1/3 – 1/2 cup chopped ham, carrots, and green onion
Beat eggs. Add salt, sugar, ajinomoto and cornstarch. Add to fish meat gradually with fish stock. When all liquid is used and the mixture is smooth, add the chopped ham, carrots, green onions and mix well with a spoon. Fry in deep oil until lightly brown.
Option – can use peas, spam, lup cheong, etc.
I like to use my Fry Daddy to deep fry. Easy, fast.
How chopped does the meat have to be when added to the fish? Diced? Border line minced? Mahalo for your time.
Ikaika
Aloha Ikaika,
Kinda small but then depends on if you like chunky pieces. You could also use ground pork or chopped up lup cheong or Portuguese sausage. Hope yours comes out ono!
Mahalo for visiting,
Aunty
Ho Auntie!!!
I just caught my first Awa and never made fish cake before. Followed your recipe and added green onion, carrot, takuan, and fresh sweet corn from the garden. So ono I cant even find the words.Thank you so much for posting this. They are still hot right now I cant wait to try em tomorrow!
Much love and aloha from Big Island,
Carlo
Aloha Carlo!
Glad yours came out good! The stuff you added sounds so creative, and ono!
What can I do to keep fishcake from flattening out when it cools
Aloha Linda,
I don’t think you can do anything to keep it puffy but if you add less liquid broth it will not spread out in the oil as much and will tend to be more ball-like instead of flat.
I also find that I like this recipe even more after the fishcake has cooled off or even better, the next day after it has been chilled in the refrigerator.
Mahalo for visiting!
Aunty..I made ur oio recipe for mothers day and it was onolichious everybody loved it MAHALOS
You’re welcome, glad it was a success! I change it up all the time – putting in different stuff like gobo, lup cheong, etc. The hardest part is cleaning and then spooning the meat off the bones. The easiest part is eating and sharing.
Hi Honolulu Aunty, For your oio recipe i see that you add cornstarch . . . that’s the first time that i see a fishcake recipe with cornstarch. What does the cornstarch do?? Would appreciate a quick answer as my husband caught oio today.
Thanks in advance for your time . . . Robbie
Aloha Robbie,
Congrats to your husband on his catch! If I remember correctly, Uncle used to put his freshly caught oio in the refrigerator or freezer for a few days before cleaning and spooning the meat, otherwise it is too soft.
I believe cornstarch makes it fry up better and gives it the nice brown color. I find that I over cook my fish cake because I wait until the patty looks brown, and later it turns even darker brown, almost burnt. Still tastes good though.
I also find that the fishcake tastes even better after it has cooled off rather than eating it hot.
Have fun cooking! You can experiment with putting different things in the batter.
Aunty