Burmese fishcake salad

This past weekend, I thought I'd spend some good ol' quality time with my grandmother. Not only is she really funny and awesome, she's an amazing cook (obviously). What's interesting about my Grandma's cooking (and my entire family's for that matter) is that it isn't purely Chinese cooking. In fact, it's anything but. Born and raised in Burma both my parents and grandparents love Burmese food. However, we are Chinese. Therefore, it is only natural to have an influence of Chinese and Burmese dishes all at the table at once! Really, we have just a whole assortment of foods from South Asia at our table everyday.


I went over to my Grandma's for lunch and she had this special Burmese fishcake salad made that was simply delicious! Very similar to something you may find at a Thai or Malaysian restaurant, this salad is tangy and full of flavor!

I know a lot of us are out there, dying to make traditional Asian/ethnic foods but find that they don't even know where to start. Well don't worry! Helping my grandma cook since I was an infant has finally paid off! The recipe follows:

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1 package of fish cake

1/2 tsp canola oil

2 cups chopped cabbage

1 cup sliced onion

2 tbl fish sauce

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbl lemon juice

Cut the fish cake in quarters and slice to 1/4 inch pieces and fry in oil for 3-4 minutes. Combine cabbage, onion, lemon juice, salt in a large bowl and mix. Add in fish cake and fish sauce and mix well and serve.

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Now it honestly cannot be simpler than that. You basically just.. mix all the ingredients together in a huge bowl.. and enjoy! You can get all of these ingredients at your local asian market- just keep your eyes peeled- they're everywhere!

This is just a great and simple recipe, and the flavors are so wonderful. The salty fish cake combined with the tangy lemon juice is a great emulsion of flavor while the crunchy cabbage combined with the soft fish cake gives it a unique texture. Try eating it with some white rice and you've got yourself a traditional Burmese/Thai meal!

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 15 minutes

Taste: 8.5