Salmon Korokke (Croquette) Balls with Wasabi Avocado-naise

Since I posted a recipe which gives canned sardines a makeover following a post on roasted whole sardines, I thought it would be fun to share a recipe giving canned salmon a run for its fresh counterpart following my chilli-soy marinated salmon post. While the canning methods may affect the nutritional profile of salmon slightly, canned salmon is still rich in omega 3 fatty acids, protein, and calcium due to the soft edible bones. What's more, I can get wild Alaskan salmon without breaking the bank, in fact, it's really very cheap when you buy the bulk cans. (Farmed salmon is really not worth your saliva. Did you know that that beautiful orange-pink in farmed salmon comes from chemical dyes, not from the prey they feed on as in wild salmon?)

So here goes!

Salmon Korokke (Croquette) Balls with Wasabi Avocado-naise

makes 10 balls

Ingredients

400g can wild Alaskan salmon, drained

1 stalk spring onion, chopped

1 tbsp garlic powder (you can also use fresh garlic, but I find the garlic powder also helps bind the mixture, kind of like flour)

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I put stale sourdough bread into the oven with some olive/sesame oil to lightly toast/dry out, then crushed them in a ziplock bag. You can also use a food processor. For a more Japanese korokke, you can use panko breadcrumbs, but I don't agree with the ingredients in these.)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius.

2. Combine the salmon, garlic powder, spring onions and beaten egg. Form little balls with your hands.

3. Roll them about in the breadcrumbs so they all get an even layer of crumb coating. Refrigerate for about 1h or so if you have time.

4. Grease a baking sheet and arrange the croquette balls, spacing them out so they aren't touching. If your breadcrumbs aren't already infused with oil, spray a mix of olive oil and sesame oil over the croquettes so they will crisp up nicely. Bake in the oven for about 20 min, or till crispy and golden.

for the wasabi Avocado-naise

Ingredients

1 ripe avocado

2 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tsp wasabi (Japanese horseradish) powder + 1 tsp water, combined to make a paste

Method

1. Combine all the ingredients together and blend. If you can't take spicy, leave the wasabi out, if you can but don't have wasabi, just sub with mustard/ horseradish. (Note: Avocado will oxidise and discolour on exposure to air, so don't do this too ahead of time!)

I'm sure we've all had our fair share of fishcakes served with tartare or dill sauce, so if you're looking for something slightly different, I think you'll enjoy this with Asian (Japanese) twist! You can flatten them into patties if you like, but I chose to make them into croquette balls because 1.it was easier to roll them about in the breadcrumbs 2. they looked cuter like that 3. so I can indulgently pop hot crispy balls into my mouth whole and get bursts of flavours and texture, yum, no fork or knife or dainty smile ;)

This is part of Monday Mania, Hearth and Soul Blog Hop, Tasty Tuesdays, Tuesday Night Supper Club.