Saving Thai Croquettes

One of my favourite bloggers, Susan of Fat Free Vegan Kitchen, invited fellow bloggers to help her save a recipe. November being Vegan month at Tasty Palettes, I couldn’t ask for a better reason to participate. The croquettes being Thai flavoured were also part of the reason for my interest.

When I say Thai, these flavours come to my mind – vegetables, spices and coconut. I improvised the recipe to include all these aspects. Sweet corn tastes great in most of the savoury cake recipes I have come across. So that was to be one of my special ingredients.

After mixing the ingredients, I realised the need for starch. And I quickly microwaved a sweet potato. And the batter was fairly sweet, hence I omitted any sweetener altogether. I was almost done and still had not added coconut milk yet, and the mixture was already moist. Debating over whether to add fresh or desiccated coconut flakes, I decided to go with the drier kind, as there was enough moisture in the batter.

Even though Susan bakes her croquettes, I pan fried them with a quick spray of olive oil. Well, I was not only running late for dinner but hungry too. The croquettes were quite forgiving. They were easy to flip without any additional oil. Now you don’t have to worry about those additional calories.

And it was perfect. The corn (I used fresh) was plump and sweet, and the lightly toasty coconut flakes added a mild, but pleasant aroma in the background. Though tomatoes were added as a garnish for their colour, I should say, they are a must, for the burst of freshness they provided complimented the croquettes. Next time, I wouldn’t even mind pulsing the corn, I would add them whole.

Ingredients

Green beans – 1½ cup, chopped
Corn – 1½ cup, fresh or frozen
Sweet potato – 1, medium sized
Red curry paste – 1½ tbsp
Basil leaves – a handful, chopped
Lemon zest – 1 tbsp
Soy sauce – 3 tbsp
Ground flax seed – 1 tbsp
Desiccated coconut – 2 tbsp
Corn flour – 4 tbsp
Salt
Pepper

Method

Blanch green beans or cook them in the microwave for about 6 minutes, until they are half done, but still crunchy. Let the beans cool down a bit and pulse ‘em in a food processor along with corn, 2 or 3 times. Take care the vegetables don’t get mushy. Transfer to a big bowl.

Wash the sweet potato. Pierce them several times with a fork. Microwave for 4 minutes. Turn the sweet potato over and cook for 4 more minutes. Slit the skin and scoop the flesh out in to the bowl with green beans and corn. Add rest of the ingredients into the bowl. Mix well and form patties.

Spray oil over a flat pan and put it on a medium heat. Neatly arrange the patties and cook for about 3 minutes. Flip and cook the other side for another 2 minutes. Garnish with thinly cut scallions and chopped tomatoes. Serve with a dipping sauce.

Susan, I hope I saved your recipe rightly. This is my entry for Can This Recipe Be Saved?

Last, but definitely not least, my Soba noodles entry, for this month’s DMBLGiT, hosted by Jennifer of Bake or Break has been awarded for its originality.

Gallery here and winners announced here. My sincere Thanks to all the judges and Congrats to other winners.