Fish cakes are one of my favorite ways to eat seafood, especially when said seafood is leftover. I used to think fish the next day was just not very appetizing (i.e. too fishy!), but then one day I turned our leftovers into fish cakes, and I have never looked back.
Today I am sharing Asian-inspired salmon cakes that can be made into large cakes for a main dish or small cakes for an appetizer to share with friends. We’ve done it both ways and love them!
Asian Salmon Cakes
Ingredients
Dipping Sauce
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- 3 tablespoons cilantro, plus extra for garnish
Fish Cakes
- 1 pound salmon, cooked or leftover and shredded with a fork (make sure the grey part of the salmon and the skin are both removed)
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons green onions, minced
- 2 tablespoons sour cream, helps hold the cake together prior to cooking
- 1/3 cup whole-wheat breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- olive oil, for cooking (or use ghee, aka clarified butter)
Instructions
Dipping Sauce
-
In a small bowl, mix together the sour cream, soy sauce, lime juice, and cilantro for the dipping sauce. Cover and refrigerate until the salmon cakes are ready.
Salmon Cakes
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In a medium bowl, thoroughly combine the cooked, shredded salmon with the eggs, green onions, sour cream, bread crumbs, soy sauce, and sesame oil.
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Begin forming the cakes by taking a handful of the mixture into your hands. Squeeze it together and discard any excess liquid that comes out. Flatten the cake and place it on an empty plate until all have been formed.
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Set a large sauté pan over medium-low heat and add a thin layer of olive oil or ghee. Once the pan is warm, cook the fish cakes (in batches if necessary) until golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Serve warm with dipping sauce and extra cilantro for garnish.
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
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How do these taste with canned salmon?
I have not tried them with canned salmon, but can’t imagine why it wouldn’t work!
We tried them with canned salmon (we were snowed in and working with limited ingredients!) and they were great. Cannot wait to make them again with some wild caught salmon once we can get to it!
This sounds so yummy…one hitch…we do not like fish!
I see so many recipes like this and have wondered if I can use chicken.
Ground or cooked and shredded…???
Hello Heidi. I suppose you could experiment but that is not something we have done. ~Amy
I haven’t really bought fish ever… do you have any recommendations on where to start? I have found suppliers for my grassfed beef etc but haven’t ventured into the fish area yet since the whole foods journey (baby steps right?)
ANY info would be appreciated
I would try to buy wild caught and from the US if you can (assuming you live in the US).
You can often get wild caught fish at a regular grocery store – however if you have access to a fishmonger/fishmarket that would be your best bet. The people that work there are usually pretty knowledgeable – I can walk into mine and say I want a mild fish to feed two people – they will not only give me suggestions on what to buy but also how to cook it.
These look great! My son has a dairy allergy – any suggestions for a sour cream substitute? Thanks!
Hi Sandy. I’ve used a dairy free yogurt and added lemon juice. ~Amy
Are you concerned with the mercury levels in fish? There is so much information about the pro’s and con’s of consuming fish… It has all left me feeling confused and uncertain.
Mercury is only a problem in long lived fish that are high on the food chain – salmon is not associated with high levels of mercury. There’s a little chart here: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/MercuryFoodChain-01.png/300px-MercuryFoodChain-01.png
Wondering if I can make them allergen free? Coconut aminos for the soy, gf cracker crumbs for the bread crumbs, maybe a flax egg for the egg, and coconut yogurt for the sour cream? Do you think it wld wrk?
Hi Stephanie. You are welcome to try all those things. Let us know how it turns out. ~Amy
Sounds yummy. However, I usually never have any salmon and cook with less meaty fish such as Tilapia. Have you ever used this recipe using a different type of fish?
You could most definitely use a different type of fish!
Using soy sauce in a recipe doesn’t make something ‘Asian’ as if Asian were just one thing. There is a myriad of cuisines in Asia. Can you watch the cultural appropriation?
Hmmm….but the fact is, cilantro and soy (including miso and tofu) ARE common flavor profiles in the Asian region. My family has a mix of Filipino and Nicaraguan cultures and you can bet my Nicaraguan grandmother never used soy in her “Central American” recipes. For you to spin a negative connotation regarding the name of a recipe seems a bit overreaching don’t ya think?
No, I don’t think so. Asia is a continent. Not all of the cultures in that continent use soy or cilantro in their cooking. To call this Asian is pretty dismissive of the cultures outside of eastern Asia.
Love all of your ideas! I’m trying this tonight! My question is about the toasted sesame oil. I have a bottle of plain sesame oil. Do I just “toast” that or do you buy an oil that is already toasted?
Hi Fran. You can usually buy toasted sesame seed oil wherever you find sesame oil. :) If you are ambitious, you can toast your own: http://www.wikihow.com/Toast-Sesame-Oil. ~Amy
Okay, I know this is not related to this blog but couldn’t find a good place to ask my question. I believe I read you eat 100% grass fed beef. Did you have any issues adjusting to the different flavor it has from the grocery store beef? So far I have only used it in cassaroles, not brave enough to try it for burgers which we normally love. Funny thing is my kids haven’t said a word about the different flavor but my husband and I are not loving it, hopefully it will grow on us.
Jessie, I drizzle extra-virgin olive oil in my grass-fed ground beef mixture to add some flavor and (good) fat. I made burgers yesterday with it and also didn’t add salt to the mixture, but instead seasoned them well with salt and pepper on the outside. I read somewhere that salt can dry out your burger (don’t know if it’s true or not). :)
Jessie- When we began eating grass fed beef a few years ago, we ran into the same problem. I first purchased ours from the local higher end grocery store. It had such a distinct flavor I didn’t think we would get used to it! Then I found a grass fed farm that delivers to my town once a month. It made all the difference in the world!! It is SO good, and my family can tell the difference between grass fed and the organic grain fed – and prefer grass fed beef and burgers all the way. Be sure to look up cooking methods for grass fed beef too – it doesn’t take as long in my experience. So, try getting the beef from a different grocery store (Whole Foods if you have one) or better yet, look online and see if there’s a local farm that delivers to your area. You can also order grass fed beef online through US Wellness Meats (they get from farms), but I haven’t tried this. Good luck!
Bought it from a local ranch that has been featured in many articles and TV shows for their old school ways of raising cattle and treating the land. I knew it would taste different just wasn’t prepared for how different. But I guess I can’t complain too much since the kiddos haven’t said anything about the meat being different. I am sure the flavor will grow on my husband and I, just curious if others also noticed a difference and had issues adjusting. Just not craving it in a burger yet :) Thanks!
Jessie- We tried the grass fed beef from a few different local farms before we found the one that we really liked and currently use (they deliver to us). The beef from one of the farms tasted terrible! Fortunately we have a few local farmers markets that made our “taste testing” a bit easier to do. My husband and I noticed a difference with the grass fed, but our kids never did.
I don’t think I’d use $$ wild salmon for these, but I’d definitely use canned wild salmon. I think my girls would eat this!
Where do you but your ghee? What brand? I live near you do if you but locally I’d love to know where and the cost. I’ve been seeing a trend of substituting ghee for butter but not sure really what it is or why it’s preferable. Do you only use ghee nowadays?
Alton Brown gives directions on how to make Ghee, it is really easy.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/ghee-recipe/index.html
Hi. You can read about what Lisa buys here: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/05/14/mini-pledge-week-10-no-refined-oils/. You can find that brand at Whole Foods, Earth Fare and similar stores. ~Amy
We love salmon cakes in our house. I also add some sautéed celery and/or red and yellow peppers to ours as well. It is one of the only ways my kids will eat peppers. Yum!
Love this , the dipping sauce sounds so good!
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Geez Linda.
Soy sauce, sesame oil, and green onions are all typical Asian ingredients – used by a variety of countries in Asia. And soy sauce is used in many Asian cuisines but not, to my knowledge, French or Italian or Swedish.
She didn’t call it Korean or Chinese or Japanese.
These sound delicious. Do you think these freeze well? If so how would you go about freezing them? Thanks.
Hi Lauren. I froze a similar recipe last week in an airtight container. I separated mine with wax paper. I’ve reheated in a skillet and in the microwave. I prefer the skillet. :) ~Amy
Do you think raw salmon would be ok, and just throw all the ingredients into a food processor?
Hi Angela. Lisa used cooked salmon and many of the recipes I’ve referenced also use cooked salmon. Here is a more complicated recipe which uses raw salmon: http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/salmon-cakes/790bebaa-b418-4aba-9813-0b64342536b8. ~Amy
Made these tonight and put it over raw spinach! Very good! Thanks
Wondering how these would be cold in a lunchbox?
Hi Dawn. I would be wary of keeping them cold enough for long enough. ~Amy
I understand. The daycare has a fridge, I just don’t see them heating them up. :) That’s what I meant. I wasn’t clear. Would they be good cold. :) (Cooked and then put in fridge for lunch.)
Hello again. I’ve eaten cold crab cakes, cod cakes, etc and often put them on salads but the test will be if your kids like them cold. ;) ~Amy
Thanks for the recipe! And, your little girl is super cute! :)
Ooh, this sounds awesome!! I LOVE salmon, but surprisingly, I have never cooked with it before. This has GOT to change!
Nobody cooks with olive oil anymore… That’s crazy talk!
I’m always looking for new recipes for seafood. This sounds delicious! And I know that I’m feeding my family a healthy main dish. Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks for the salmon cakes idea. I understand the mercury concerns and I know there is some good information on this topic in a recent post at a site called marksdailyapple dot com, if anyone is interested.
Great recipe! Looks delicious!
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Tried this for dinner tonight, so happy with the recipe. Delicious and my 3 and 5 yr old boys loved it. Served with sautéed spinach, YUM.
This looks really delicious and easy! Our Whole Foods just posted on Facebook that wild caught fresh salmon is on sale on Friday (I’m not a fan of previously frozen fish and seafood). I have some whole wheat panko breadcrumbs left over from a quinoa, cheddar, chicken and roasted broccoli bake (let me know if you’d like that recipe — it was all organic and delicious!) that I made last night. Do you think that I could sub those in for the regular whole grain breadcrumbs?
Hi Karen. I do not see why Panko crumbs wouldn’t work. :) ~Amy
Hi Karen, I’d love the recipe for the quinoa bake. All my favorite ingredients in 1 casserole, yum! And I’ve been meaning to get to the store for WW panko, this would give me a reason to do it. Thanks!
I love fish cake but Salmon is so expensive here. Can I adapt this recipe to use any type of fish? They look very good and the sauce sounds delish.
Hi Debbie. You sure can. I used it with cod last week and it was delish! ~Amy
Made this last night and it’s now a family favorite! Both kids loved it and even the sauce! It’s hard for us to eat salmon any other way than fresh from the water caught by the husband then straight to the grill then to our plates. So we were all gratefully surprised how much we liked it! We used our frozen stock from this last summer, baked it, cooled it in the fridge until dinner times then prepared the recipe as directed. So you don’t just have to use leftovers if you don’t want a salmon dish twice within a couple days. Thanks for this recipe! :)
Lisa, have you tried the recipe keeping the gray/skin in? That’s where all the health benefits are! Also, I second the importance of WILD salmon! Sadly, farm raised salmon contains little, if any, omega-3 fats :( Check out some great reasons to make sure you get your healthy fats here! http://fresh-you.blogspot.com/2002/01/top-3-reasons-to-eat-healthy-fat.html Good night :)
Colleen :)
Hi Colleen. Thanks for sharing! ~Amy
Cilantro is such a very strong unappetizing herb….
I’ll use dill instead…it goes better with salmon!
Hi Linda. I’ve found that with cilantro, you either love it or you have an aversion to it. I love it. My mom in law insists that it tastes like soap. :) ~Amy
Oh….I LOVE cilantro (though there was a time I didn’t).
Hi!
We are having salmon and sweet potato fries for supper tonight. If there is left over salmon, I’d love to try these! I was just wondering though, do they freeze well? I don’t really want to have salmon two nights in a row and was wondering if I could freeze them for next week?
Hello Tess. Yes, you can freeze them for a later meal! ~Amy
This looks delicious and salmon is a favorite in our house. We do, however, have a dairy allergy to contend with. Any recommendations as a replacement for the sour cream?
Hi Kelly. Many readers have used almond or coconut yogurt as a replacement (though not in this recipe) but we’ve not tried it. ~Amy
Is canned salmon acceptable?
Yep, canned should work fine. ~Amy
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Made these today and they are seriously the best salmon “patty” I have ever made!
This recipe looks amazing. It will be a great left over meal next time we cook Salmon! Keep the amazing recipes coming!
My girls really do not like cilantro, is there something you could suggest to switch it up? and would I still use the same amount?
Thank you, they look delicious!
Hi Victoria. A reader below suggested dill as did other readers who are not keen on cilantro. :) ~Amy
Victoria: I’d consider dill.
We had these for supper tonight. They were delicious! Even my little guys (1 and 3) gobbled them up! Thanks for posting such great recipes. I’ve used sooo many from your site and all of them have been great. Thanks for making it easier to eat good (real!) food.
I made this tonight, and it was great! I used Trader Joe’s canned wild pink salmon, and it worked very well. Thank you for another great recipe!
These sound awesome! I make crab cakes every so often but never think to make anything with leftover fish – what a great idea! Can’t wait to try these!
I just made these and they were amazing! I only had regular sesame oil so I used a 1/4 tsp, but I think I’ll use a 1/2 tsp next time b/c I love sesame oil. I usually make the Barefoot Contessa’s Salmon Croquettes and was nervous to try a different recipe, but this was fantastic!!
Hello. I am new to this web site, my daughter Ashley just gave birth to a healthily baby boy, he is now 5 months, and ashley is nursing, her diet is a extremely important part of her life,so this web site is a great source of info.
I have problems with wheat, i like your fish cake recipe, when i was a young lacy, my uncle made fish cakes,
He used mashed potatoes instead of bread crumbs, try it you will love the texture .and if you have gluten issues,the potatoes,wont hurt you.
Made these today for lunch…delicious!! Definitely adding to my regular rotation! Thanks for this fabulous recipe :)
Instead of sour cream, could you use plain greek yogurt instead?
Yes, that should work! :)
I also don’t care for cilantro so I used finely chopped cucumber for the dipping sauce. It was great!
We all love these! My 3-year-old and 1-year-old included. I substituted mayo for the sour cream because that’s what I had. And I served them for dinner when we had professional chefs for company–my guests asked for the recipe!
Could canned organic salmon be used in this recipe? If it can be used, would I just buy enough cans to equal 16 ounces of meat? Thank you!
Hi Amber. Yes, other readers have used canned salmon. ~Amy
Really, really good. My local fish vendor sells pieces of salmon for significantly less $. It’s perfect for these!
You people afe nuts to use any food from the western Pacific or from China!
if the poison and pollution don’t get you, the radiation will!
Please forgive me if this has been answered and I missed it, but I wondered if you have baked these before rather than sautéed. If so, at what temperature and for how long? I made up a double batch to cook tonight, would love to have them all baking at the same time so I can be hands-free for something else.
Thank you so much for a wonderful website! You have helped me get foods into my kids that I didn’t think I could. :-)
Hi SB. Sorry, we are rarely able to answer recipe questions in real time. We’ve not tried baking this recipe. If you do/did, let us know how they turned out for you. :)
These look so good. Can’t wait to try them. I love crab cakes and am almost positive I will love these. Salmon is my mom favorite fish. I will have to make them when I have my parents over for dinner.
I made these tonight and they were awesome. So much better than the salmon patties from my childhood. My one year old couldn’t get enough!
Hi Lisa,
Love the recipe! Also, you can mix leftover fish with mayonnaise (add onions, garlic, chopped herbs, etc) to make filling for sandwiches too!
These were such a hit in my house. My husband loved them and my 16 month old gobbled them up – all of them – no leftovers last night! Thanks for all of your amazing recipes – its my go to for dinner time :)
Can I substitute rolled oats for the breadcrumbs? Thanks!
I’m also wondering if these could be frozen?
Hi there. We’ve not tried that substitution but let us know if you give it a shot. These can be frozen. :)
Tried this recipe tonight & it was AWESOME!! I’m not much on seafood but loved salmon patties as a child so I gave it a try! Since I’m not very experienced in cooking fish, I subbed canned salmon, and they were great! My 3 year old even tried them!
I made these today and they were soooooo good!
I’m thinking canned salmon could also work. Any comments please?
Yes, it will. Drain it well.
These look great and sounds absolutely delicious. I’ve never thought to use sour cream to hold fish cakes together. Great idea! Will have to give this a try.
I have made these twice and double the recipe the second time. They are the moistest salmon cakes I’ve ever made!
Would love to get recipes