Flatbreads & Griddle · Chinese home cooking
Soft Cod and Carrot Pancakes
Flaked cod, shredded carrot and a little egg are bound into small, tender rounds and gently pan-fried until just set, keeping a soft, almost custardy centre.
About this dish
Cod breaks into large, satiny flakes as soon as it warms, which is why these cakes are mixed by hand rather than stirred hard. The carrot stays crunchy and threads the pale fish with orange, while a spoonful of flour and one egg do enough holding. Over gentle heat the smell is mild and slightly sweet, more steamed fish than fried food. The rounds should stay supple and pale, with only a light golden rim; browning them hard dries the fish out and turns the texture chalky.
Before you start
Equipment: Steamer, Skillet. Tap the ingredient checkboxes as you go.
Method
6 steps · tick each one off as you finish it.
Steam the cod
Set 250 g cod on a plate in a steamer over medium heat for 6 minutes, then take it off the heat and rest 2 minutes. Look for this: the flesh flakes under a fork and looks opaque white with no translucent centre.
Flake and cool
Flake the warm cod into a bowl with a fork, discarding liquid, and let it cool off the heat for 5 minutes. The cue is simple: the pieces are no longer steaming and hold their shape as large curds rather than collapsing into a paste.
Fold the batter
Stir 110 g egg with 40 g flour, 1 tsp ginger and 1/2 tsp salt off the heat, then fold in 100 g carrot, 15 g scallions and the cooled cod. It is done when the mixture clings loosely and the fish curds stay visible.
Heat the pan gently
Set a 24 cm non-stick skillet over low-medium heat for 2 minutes and brush with 1 tbsp oil and 1 tsp sesame oil. Wait until a spoonful of mixture gives a soft, slow sizzle rather than a sharp crackle.
Shape and cook the first side
Spoon 6 mounds of about 70 g each into the pan and flatten to 7 cm rounds. Cook over low-medium heat for 3 minutes, covered, without moving them; it is ready when the tops look set and matte and the rims show the faintest gold.
Turn and serve
Turn each round with a spatula and cook over low heat for 2 minutes, adding 1 tbsp oil if the pan is dry. Stir 1 tbsp soy sauce with 1 tbsp lime juice; serve 3 rounds per person while supple, before the fish firms up.
Tips that matter
- Steam the cod instead of pan-frying it first; pre-cooked fish weeps less water into the batter, so the rounds hold together with only 40 g flour.
- Keep the heat at low-medium throughout; if the pan smokes, the outside will brown before the egg in the centre has set.
Easy variations
- Swap the cod for 250 g salmon and add 1 tsp chopped dill to the mixture.
- Replace the carrot with 100 g finely grated courgette, squeezed dry, for a greener, milder round.
Questions that come up
My rounds fell apart in the pan. Why?
Usually the cod was too wet or the pan too hot. Squeeze the steamed fish of any liquid and give the first side 3 full minutes covered before turning with a wide spatula.
Can I use raw cod instead of steaming it?
You can, but mince it very finely and cook the rounds for 5 minutes per side over low heat; the texture will be firmer and less custardy.
Nutrition, roughly
| Energy | 245 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 24 g |
| Carbohydrate | 14 g |
| Fat | 11 g |
Estimated per serving from standard ingredients, rounded. Treat it as a guide, not clinical data.
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