These "tatties 'n neeps" fish cakes with wokked black sesame chicory have a Scottish bent. They are a riff on a classic British favourite, inspired by the great love story at the centre of how Japanese whisky evolved. However, that, as they say, is another story altogether...
Fish cakes have been part of the British dietary canon since the 19th century. Featured in Mrs Beeton's famed tome on household management, they're one of the recipes she popularised with her waste-not-want-not philosophy of using leftovers in recipes appropriated from colonies where, especially in Asia, the fish cake had long been a means of stretching food further.
In the UK, in the 1960s and 1970s, the common or garden fishcake really came into its own. Perfect for freezing after cooking, it became that "kiddies' favourite"; readily popped into the oven directly from the freezer. These tatties 'n neeps fishcakes are a bit like a fancy version of that.
These are a (marginally) more sophisticated version. If you get them right—which isn't difficult—they're as likely to be enjoyed by childish palates as more discerning adults.
This version—with its "tatties 'n neeps" boast—looks to the flavours of traditional Scottish cooking. In this recipe, I favour swede (as opposed to turnips) for the "neeps" part. But, both are almost interchangeable under the generic term.
Slàinte, uisge-beatha...Taketsuru-san
My recipe is inspired by the romantic tale of Taketsuru-san, the first man in Japan to master the art of whisky. Founder of Nikka distilleries and the brain behind Suntory, Masataka Taketsuru met his future wife Jessie Roberta "Rita" Cowan, while undertaking his apprenticeship at Hazelburn distillery. He married her in 1920, following his studies at the University of Glasgow.
The couple later returned to Japan where they changed the course of whisky history. The first—not entirely legal (certainly not now)—Japanese whisky I ever tasted was Suntory. My father and uncle were aficionados of Japanese whisky back in the 1960s. Such a thing was considered "surreal" in the Western world back then, not the fashionable stance it is now.
When I was about 14 or 15, my dad decided that cracking open a bottle of aged Suntory he'd stashed away for years was a good way of teaching me the difference between Speyside whiskies and those from Hokkaido—no, we're not gonna get into why he thought this was key information for a teenager, but nor am I complaining.
He kept saying, "You remember! You remember!" referring to when I was in Japan with him as a child. He'd obviously forgotten that I hadn't quite progressed to whisky back then.
Fishing for complements
Whisky is at the heart of this recipe. But, so is the fish. I'm using a mix of cod, salmon and smoked haddock. You can opt for any combination—or only one—of these types of fish according to preference. You can even include seafood such as scallops, langoustines or prawns if you wish.
White fish such as cod, hake or coley, are all great. And, you can opt for the increasingly widely available smoked basa in lieu of smoked haddock. If I wanted to be snobby, I'd say make sure you use wild salmon. However, if you're investing in truly wild salmon, I'd suggest other dishes rather than this workaday meal would be better suited to its flavours.
I'm cooking it here with wokked chicory with blackened sesame and a ginger teriyaki whisky sauce, which says far more about the influence of Asian cuisine on my mindset than it being "traditional". It's a suggestion rather than essential. You could always have your fish cakes with steamed broccoli, chips and tartare sauce; no rules. Really, this is my second favourite choice of accompaniments.
This recipe serves 2 to 3 diners and it can be easily scaled and adapted. You'll almost certainly end up with more fish cakes than you need for one meal; convenient if you're actually cooking for a larger group.
Fortunately, any surplus can be safely frozen, cooked and cooled, for later use. Simply re-heat them from frozen in a pre-heated hot oven basted with a little olive or sunflower oil.
Here I'm choosing to shallow-fry them—this dish has relatively little dietary fat. But, they also work really well cooked in an air fryer or in a hot, pre-heated oven, spritzed with a little additional sunflower oil.
This recipe may seem overly complicated, but it's actually not. Just try it.
Shopping list
for the tatties 'n neeps fish cakes
Approx. 250g of white fish, smoked fish and salmon; skinned, filleted and deboned
½ a fresh swede; peeled and cut into large pieces
4 or 5 small potatoes (not "new" potatoes); peeled
⅓ cup rolled oats
3 echalion shallots; finely chopped
A generous clutch of flat-leaf parsley, most of it chopped
1 vegetable stock cube; diluted in 1 a cup of boiling water
Golden breadcrumbs (or panko); approx. ⅓ cup
1 egg, whisked
3 tbpns of sifted cornflour
2 tbspns extra virgin olive oil (or unsalted, softened butter)
The juice and zest of ½ a lemon (or lime)
Some sunflower oil (or olive oil) for frying
Salt and black pepper to taste
for the wokked chicory with blackened sesame seeds
approx.1 medium chicory per diner; washed and pulled into individual leaves
1 large green bell pepper, thinly sliced, vertically
A little sesame oil
2 tspns garlic & ginger paste
Approx. 150g whole small mushrooms
2 tspns black roasted sesame seeds
A dash of dark soy sauce
for the teriyaki whisky sauce
A little sesame oil
4 tbspns of teriyaki sauce; store-bought or make your own
2 double shots of whisky; preferably Suntory
1 tspn garlic & ginger paste
Cooking Method
for the tatties 'n neeps fishcakes
In a large pot of salted water, boil the potatoes and swede together until cooked—until a fork passes effortlessly through them i.e. approx 15mins. Drain and cool. You can do this up to 24 hours before and store, sealed in the fridge. NB: depending on the relative density of the potatoes and swede, they may not cook within the same timeframe. Simply remove what's cooked first and drain
Concurrently—even 24 hours before—gently poach the fish in the diluted vegetable stock with some added whole flat-leaf parsley until barely cooked (3 to 4mins). Remove from the heat and drain. Cool and store until ready to make the fish cakes
Similarly, heat a frying pan and baste it with a little oil using pastry brush (or a "spritzer"). When hot, add the rolled oats, stirring nearly continuously. Add a generous amount of freshly cracked pepper and stir in. Keep stirring until the oats are toasted. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Store in a covered dish in the fridge. You can do this up to 2 or 3 days before cooking the fishcakes
To make the fishcakes, roughly mash the potatoes and swede together in a suitably large preparation bowl and mix in the extra virgin olive oil (or softened butter). Add the cooled, cooked fish to the bowl and gently flake using a fork. Stir these rough flakes into the mash
Add the chopped raw shallots, flat-leaf parsley, toasted oats and lemon juice, gently stirring in. Season with a little salt and pepper
Knead gently with clean hands,"patting" this mix into "cakes"
Set up your "bathing stations": one container with the whisked egg; another into which you sift the cornflour; and another with the breadcrumbs
Heat the sunflower oil—at least 2cm deep—in a frying pan on a medium-to-high heat. While the oil is heating, first dip your fishcakes into the cornflour, turn and ensure it coats on all sides—the cornflour absorbs excess moisture
Carefully dip each fish cake in the whisked egg, ensuring all sides are coated. Then gently press into the golden breadcrumbs
Add your fish cakes to your (now heated) pan. Fry for approx. 3mins on each side or until browned. Then decant to a dish lined with kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil
Once ready, select what you plan to serve and what you plan to store. Transfer the fish cakes you plan to serve to a baking tray to "finish" in a hot oven. Allow the remaining cakes to fully cool fully before freezing in ziplock bags
Finish your fish cakes in a hot oven while you cook the chicory, then take to table
for the wokked chicory
In a wok, heat a little sesame oil on a medium heat. Once hot, add the garlic and ginger paste. Sizzle, stirring almost constantly. Add the sliced green pepper
When the green pepper softens, add the mushrooms and chicory. Stir-fry for 5mins
When largely cooked—remaining a little al dente—add the blackened sesame seeds and stir in
Add the dark soy sauce only in the last minute of cooking or so. When cooked, remove from the heat and cover while you prepare the sauce
for the teriyaki whisky sauce
Heat the sesame oil in a a small, deep saucepan
When the oil is hot, add the garlic & ginger paste and sauté on a high heat for 4 or 5n mins
When the garlic browns, add the teriyaki, stirring. As soon as it begins to bubble, pour in the whisky and stir vigorously—you're basically caramelising
When it cooks to a thick, syrup-like consistency, remove from the heat and decant into a small condiment dish
Alternatives
These fish cakes are essentially a pescatarian dish. Nope, I've never thought about a veggie or vegan version. And, indeed, I've never thought of a meat version...
Accompaniments
Okay, the thick sweetness of the whisky sauce is tempting to go in a red direction. But, to date, I've resisted that temptation finding a brassy Albariño such as 'Field of Stones' from New Zealand's Marlborough winery literally on the money.
That said, here I'm having it with the thing I think works really well with a sticky whisky sauce: diet coke on ice with a couple of slices of lime. And, of course, let's not forget how well it works with beer...
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