Turkeycakes - sounds strange, tastes good!

Turkeycakes are my modification of the Thai fishcake starter, tod mun – small, pungently flavored fish fritters often served with a sweet and sour cucumber salad. Unable to make it to an asian grocery for the requisite ground whitefish, I altered the recipe in order to utilize the ground turkey more conveniently located in my refrigerator. The experiment, I dare say, was a success.

Here's what I did:

1 lb. ground turkey
1 T flour
3 T low sodium soy sauce
2 T red curry
1/4 cup shredded kaffir lime leaf
1/2 t garlic powder
3 thai bird chilies, sliced (optional)
1/4 cup frozen corn (frozen peas or sliced fresh green beans would also work well)

Take all the ingredients and mix them together. Form patties about 1-2" in diameter and a half centimeter thick, basically just thick enough to maintain shape through the cooking process. Shallow fry on medium-high in canola or vegetable oil.

Between the hot oil and ocassionally errant corn kernal, this gets a little messy.

Flip once one side has become dark brown, then drain on paper towels.

It's not a pretty cooking experience, but let me assure you it is delicious if you're a fan of strong spicy flavors. I recommend at least having the turkeycakes with a side of fresh cucumbers if not a sweet and sour cucumber salad. But if you felt like it, you could make a simple one with quartered cucumber slices (so they look like pie pieces), enough white vinegar to cover the cucumber, some sugar, and a little onion and garlic, chilies may also be added if desired. I'd make the salad first and then prepared the meat so the flavors can stew a bit.