Growing up on the coast, fishing was a favoured past time and Tangaroa was sure to throw us a fair few Kahawai every time when ventured out.
Kahawai in Maori translates to “brave” or “strong” (kaha) and water (wai), it is a sports fish that is abundantly caught at the river mouth of New Zealand waters.
Kahawai is an easy fish to catch, but it must be bled soon after it is caught. This is essential to ensure the eating quality of the fish.
Ideally, for best use, Kahawai are either smoked or they make a great protein source for ‘fish cakes’
This recipe is a real family favourite. Serve with garlic bread, salad and mayo dressing
Savoury Fish Cakes
[Serves 4-6]
Ingredients;
2 large orange kumara (peeled, boiled & mashed)
4 fish fillets (Kahawai)
1 lemon (juice)
1tsp curry powder
1tsp mustard powder
1/2 cup parsley (chopped)
2 eggs
1 cup of bread crumbs
2 tablespoons of sweet chili sauce
Salt and pepper to season
Olive oil
Step one: Peel, boil and mash the kumara
Step two: Fillet the fish, remove the bones and slice thinly. Squeeze the juice from the lemon onto thesliced fish and season with salt & pepper. Add the curry powder, mustard powder, chopped parsley, and eggs. Mix to combine. Finally add the bread crumbs, sweet chili sauce and mashed kumara.
Step three: Heat the oil in the pan. Shape the mixture into round shaped patties and fry on a medium heat. Once the patties are browned on either side, bake them in the oven on a medium heat for a further 10-15 minutes.
Serve with garlic bread, salad and mayo dressing
Mayo dressing: Combine ¼ cup of mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon of crushed garlic, juice from 1 lemon and 1 tablespoon of capers.