Fishcake Patties

Today finds us kicking off Fall Intersession for public school students and most teachers in the 50th state!  I am finally on break!  And I totally deserve it after the hell week last week.

Things at work were getting a little weird.  The week began with a call from an unrealistic parent...no, I don't think your child will ever be an Air Force One pilot.  Unforeseen collateral damage of professing high expectations is some parents interpret it in a twisted way and grow false hope that ALL children (no matter how cognitively compromised they may be) will be able to embark on a landmark journey which leads to acceptance at an Ivy League college and/or a stellar career.  High expectations are great, provided they are realistic.

Then came the farting.  Uncle passed the clerk's desk and broke wind right by her head.  Twice.  Uncle muttered, "pardon me", as the cheese was cut.  That is sooooo no class.  You had to do it right by the clerk's head?  Thats definitely a hostile work environment and assault, if you ask me.  Then we heard Uncle lifted up a cheek at a meeting, let it rip and said, "I'm so gassy today".  I'm sure students have been written up for doing stuff like that, but I guess some are above the law because it keeps happening.  Gross.

Maybe I'm the one with a stick up my ass (bwahahaha), but growing up, people just didn't do things like that, other than in a juvenile, prank-like way.  I must not be alone because other people voice disdain with that behavior.  The clerk wasn't very happy, and the "pardon me" just didn't cut it as an apology. 

Anyway, back to my break.  I'm planning on baking cookies with the Ds.  Neither of the Ds heard of peanut butter cookies with the criss-cross (the only peanut butter cookie they know is the peanut blossom variety) so I think we need to make peanut butter cookies with criss-cross pattern.  That was definitely a staple growing up.  The Help found a doggie donut recipe on the internet so I may modify the recipe and have D2 help me make some for Sammy & Rain.

I also want to smoke a brisket in the Kamado and make some ginger green onion crab.  I'm not sure how much I'll get to do, but its nice to have the option of planning meals which take time to prepare.  With all the craziness this past week, there was only time for fast, quick dinners.  These fishcake patties saved me one night (and provided lunch the next day). 

I wonder if fishcake patties are a Hilo thing.  Every okazu-ya here sells them in some form.  They are super quick to prepare (buy fishcake paste already made) and leftovers heat nicely.  If you have any veggies on hand such as carrots or beans, mince a small amount and toss them into the mix.  Fishcake paste from Hilo (Amano brand) is white and slightly sweet; Chinese fishcake paste you get in Honolulu is gelatinous gray and savory.  I've used the recipe below with both types of fishcake paste, and both taste great. 

click on recipe title for printable recipe
Fishcake Patties

     1/2 lb fishcake paste

     1 lb imitation crab, shredded

     1 egg

     1 tbsp sugar

     1 tbsp mirin

     2 stalks green onion

     1 can water chestnuts, diced

     1 c panko

Combine all ingredients except panko.  Using an ice cream scoop, drop ball of mixture into panko.  Coat well.  Flatten.  Fry until golden brown.

The panko step is very important if you want to keep the fishcake off your fingers.  Mom never did the panko step, and I remember her constantly wetting her fingers to minimize the sticking.  Of course, then she had the greater problem of keeping the water from her hands from dripping into the hot oil.  This is NOT a declaration that I am smarter than Mom (she might be reading this). 

Today finds us kicking off Fall Intersession for public school students and most teachers in the 50th state!  I am finally on break!  And I totally deserve it after the hell week last week.

Things at work were getting a little weird.  The week began with a call from an unrealistic parent...no, I don't think your child will ever be an Air Force One pilot.  Unforeseen collateral damage of professing high expectations is some parents interpret it in a twisted way and grow false hope that ALL children (no matter how cognitively compromised they may be) will be able to embark on a landmark journey which leads to acceptance at an Ivy League college and/or a stellar career.  High expectations are great, provided they are realistic.

Then came the farting.  Uncle passed the clerk's desk and broke wind right by her head.  Twice.  Uncle muttered, "pardon me", as the cheese was cut.  That is sooooo no class.  You had to do it right by the clerk's head?  Thats definitely a hostile work environment and assault, if you ask me.  Then we heard Uncle lifted up a cheek at a meeting, let it rip and said, "I'm so gassy today".  I'm sure students have been written up for doing stuff like that, but I guess some are above the law because it keeps happening.  Gross.

Maybe I'm the one with a stick up my ass (bwahahaha), but growing up, people just didn't do things like that, other than in a juvenile, prank-like way.  I must not be alone because other people voice disdain with that behavior.  The clerk wasn't very happy, and the "pardon me" just didn't cut it as an apology. 

Anyway, back to my break.  I'm planning on baking cookies with the Ds.  Neither of the Ds heard of peanut butter cookies with the criss-cross (the only peanut butter cookie they know is the peanut blossom variety) so I think we need to make peanut butter cookies with criss-cross pattern.  That was definitely a staple growing up.  The Help found a doggie donut recipe on the internet so I may modify the recipe and have D2 help me make some for Sammy & Rain.

I also want to smoke a brisket in the Kamado and make some ginger green onion crab.  I'm not sure how much I'll get to do, but its nice to have the option of planning meals which take time to prepare.  With all the craziness this past week, there was only time for fast, quick dinners.  These fishcake patties saved me one night (and provided lunch the next day). 

I wonder if fishcake patties are a Hilo thing.  Every okazu-ya here sells them in some form.  They are super quick to prepare (buy fishcake paste already made) and leftovers heat nicely.  If you have any veggies on hand such as carrots or beans, mince a small amount and toss them into the mix.  Fishcake paste from Hilo (Amano brand) is white and slightly sweet; Chinese fishcake paste you get in Honolulu is gelatinous gray and savory.  I've used the recipe below with both types of fishcake paste, and both taste great. 

click on recipe title for printable recipe
Fishcake Patties

     1/2 lb fishcake paste

     1 lb imitation crab, shredded

     1 egg

     1 tbsp sugar

     1 tbsp mirin

     2 stalks green onion

     1 can water chestnuts, diced

     1 c panko

Combine all ingredients except panko.  Using an ice cream scoop, drop ball of mixture into panko.  Coat well.  Flatten.  Fry until golden brown.

The panko step is very important if you want to keep the fishcake off your fingers.  Mom never did the panko step, and I remember her constantly wetting her fingers to minimize the sticking.  Of course, then she had the greater problem of keeping the water from her hands from dripping into the hot oil.  This is NOT a declaration that I am smarter than Mom (she might be reading this).