Fiskefrikadeller - Danish Fish Cake with Wheat Germ

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1. 600 - 675 g cod or salmon or a combination, skinned, boned and cut into smaller pieces
2. 1-2 eggs
3. 1 carrot diced or any other vegetable such as squash, fennikel, celery, leek or even potato
4. 1/2 red pepper bell or chili diced
5. 1 clove garlic
6. 1 slice of ginger diced (optional)
7. 1 handful of parsley or chives chopped
8. 3 TBS wheat germ or rolled oats or a combination of both
10. 1 TBS flax seeds ground
11. 1 TBS herbs such as dried basil, thyme or oregano (optional)
12. 1 TBS lemon juice or capers diced
13. 100 ml low fat fresh milk (traditional Danish recipe uses heavy cream)
14. 1 tsp salt
15. 6 turns black pepper mill
16. 2 TBS cooking oil (or you can use a mixture of butter and cooking oil)
17. Dill for garnishing

Directions:

1. Dice carrots and red pepper fruit by hand, food processor or blender. If using blender, you need to add water and pulse it. Drain off the liquid and press dry the carrots and red pepper fruit.

2. Blend all ingredients (except cooking oil and butter) by hand or in a blender/food processor til combined and smooth. The mixture will be a bit sticky.

3. Let the mixture rest for 15-30 minutes in the fridge.

4. Heat cooking oil and butter on a pan.

5. Use a tablespoon to form the mixture into fish cakes and fry them on medium heat for 5 minutes on each side or until golden using medium heat to ensure the fish is cooked without burning the fish cakes. It's important to have patience when frying the fish cakes and not rush it with a higher heat.

6. Sprinkle some chopped dill and serve.

Tips:

You can also bake them in the oven at 180 degree celsius. Give it 7 minutes on each side.

Video Demonstration:

Additional Information:

Recently, I am reading up about nutrition and did a detailed analysis of the different nutrients in food. Fish comes up on the top for almost all the nutrients, especially salmon at the very top comparing with all the different kinds of food including vegetables. Thus, I am more determined than ever to incorporate more food into our family's diet.

But alas, it hasn't been an easy task. Our Little FECS started liking fish as a toddler, and then somewhere along the way(I don't know what happened), he doesn't like fish anymore. Our Baby FECS hasn't really like fish from day one as a toddler, although she does like salmon on good days (phew). Daddy FECS prefers beef to fish. Although he does eat fish, we just don't eat it as regularly as is recommended by the Danish health authorities to consume fish two times a week.

If I prepare fish the Chinese way - by steaming them... the kids run away and Daddy FECS eat them, but not as heartily as he would eat the Danish fiskefrikadeller.

Then bingo, I thought why don't I try to make the Danish fish cakes "fiskefrikadeller" that all the Danes love. Apparently, I read that this is the method the Danes make their kids fall in love with fish. I don't know why I waited almost 18 years in Denmark to try making it myself!!!

But better late than never. I got down to it as soon as I could today. Daddy FECS and Little FECS ate many of them. Baby FECS only add half a fiskefrikadeller :-( She snacked too much along the day to have sufficient appetite for dinner.

I dice the carrots and red pepper bells using the Magimix blender, using water and pulsing it. You can actually use half of the water than what was shown in the picture above.

Drain off the liquid and press dry the carrots and red pepper fruit.

Don't throw away the water. You can drink it like you are drinking your regular water. It tastes like water, but with all the vitamins in it.

Add all the ingredients into the blender... such as 1 table spoon of oats

2 tablespoon of wheat germ

Crack in 2 eggs

Add 1 teaspoon of salt

Add a few turns of the peppermill as desired

I added leek here

Add a handful of parsley. Pre-chopping it is not required.

Add a clove of garlic

Add 1 tablespoon of dried herbs... here I added dried basil...

Add in the diced carrot and red pepper fruit

Add in the fish - here I added a combination of cod fish and salmon. I first cut the fish fillets into smaller fishes. I then add it into the blender with the other ingredients... 

Lastly, add 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds and a teaspoon of chopped ginger

Add 50 ml of milk. Some recipes call for 150 ml. The Magimix blender works fine with just 50 ml of milk, but it will be faster if more liquid is added.

I start at speed 1 and slowly work it up to speed 2 and ended with the last few seconds on speed 3.

I also use the spatula while blending to scrap down the side and guide the mixture towards the centre of the blender.

The blending is done :-) Ideally let the mixture rest in the fridge for 15-30 minutes.

Heat up pan with 2 tablespoon of cooking oil and 1 teaspoon of butter.

Use a tablespoon to form the mixture into fish cakes and fry them on medium heat for 5 minutes on each side or until golden using medium heat to ensure the fish is cooked without burning the fish cakes. 

Thus, it's important to have patience when frying the fish cakes and not to try to quicken the cooking with a higher heat.

9

Danish Fish Cakes called "fiskefrikadeller" ready to be served with mashed potatoes or Danish rye bread along with tartar sauce or remoulade sauce :-)

References:

https://thegutenappetit.com/2018/01/06/178-fiskefrikadeller/
https://sweetsoursavory.com/blog/2013/9/16/fish-cakes-fiskefrikadeller
https://www.bbc.com/food/recipes/danish_fish_frikadeller_98237
http://thefamilydinnerbook.com/recipes/2013/12/31/fish-cakes-danish-fiske-frikadeller/
https://lineh.dk/opskrifter/fiskefrikadeller-uden-mel
https://hjerteforeningen.dk/opskrifter/mini-fiske-frikadeller-med-kartoffelsalat/
https://www.meyersmad.dk/lav-mad/opskrifter/fiskefrikadeller-med-hurtig-remoulade/
https://www.valdemarsro.dk/fiskefrikadeller/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-uUrqprqe4
https://youtu.be/gIeYHsTRIfc
https://youtu.be/K3ei9nAxbGs
http://farskoekkenskole.dk/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Fiskedeller-og-mos.pdf

Danish Fish Cakes/Friske Fiskefrikadelle

Recipe adapted from 24timer

Serves 4

Preparation & Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:
- 500g cod fish fillet (Torske fillet eller lange, mørk-eller lyssej, kuller, kulmule eller brosme)
- 2 stalks of spring onions chopped
- 2 TBS graham flour (or white flour)
- 2 TBS cooking oil
- 100 - 150ml skimmed milk
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp salt and pepper
- 1 tsp brewer's yeast (optional)
- 1 tsp wheatgerm (optional)

Directions:
1. Cut the fish fillets into smaller pieces.

2. Add fish, spring onion, salt and pepper in a blend and blend well at high speed until it goes around in the blender like a ball.

3. Add egg and blend again until the fish become a ball.

4. Add milk and blend again.

5. Add flour, brewer's yeast and wheatgerm and blend a little more.

6. Form 12 - 16 into balls (using two tablespoons).

7. Heat pan with oil on high heat and fry until golden, then turn over and fry the other side until golden (you may need to turn down the fire from here on).

Tips:
You can also add other vegetables such as carrots into the fish cakes mixture.

Additional Information:
This is a very Danish dish and the Danish kids love this. I made this for the first time for dinner and Joshua loved it. I have saved the remaining for his lunch tomorrow. Florian liked it too. It is nice to be able to know what ingredients go into the homemade fish cakes, compared to store-bought ones.

The original calls for white flour, but I use graham flour instead. The original calls for frying with butter, but I use cooking oil instead.

Eating the Danish fish cakes made me think of the Chinese fish balls. When I have a chance, I will make the Chinese fishballs.

References:
- 24timer

Pan-fried Cod Fish

Receipe adapted from www.2gangeomugen.dk

Serves 4

Preparation & Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
1. 500g cod fish fillet
2. 1 TBS cooking oil
3. 1 clove garlic chopped
4. Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Sprinkle salt & pepper on the fish.
2. Heat oil on a skillet and fry garlic until golden.
3. Add fish and fry for 2 minutes on each side.

References:
- www.2gangeomugen.dk

Oven-Baked Cod Fish

Receipe adapted from www.2gangeomugen.dk

Serves 4

Preparation & Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
1. 500g cod fish fillet
2. 4-5 cherry tomatoes diced small (optional)
3. 1 fresh shitake mushroom chooped (optional)
4. A handful of parsley minced (optional)
5. A little liquid such as water, whitewine, milk or cream
6. 1 TBS olive oil
7. Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
1. In an ovenproof dish, place the fish and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Add a little liquid e.g. water, white wine or cream at the bottom.
3. Add minced tomatoes and parsley on top (optional).
4. Drizzle with a little olive oil on top.
5. Cover with wet baking paper (optional).
6. Bake in the oven at 200 °C for 10 minutes or at 180 °C for 15 minutes.

Additional Information:
I will make this dish tomorrow.

References:
- www.2gangeomugen.dk

Baked Cod Fish with Potatoes and Green Peas/Torsk på Ærtepure og Kartoffelcubes

Recipe adapted from Søndagsavisen

Serves 4

Preparation Time & Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:
- 750g small potatoes
- 600g cod fillet
- 400-500g frozen green peas
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 bouquet thyme
- 1 lemon
- 1 bunch of dill
- sea salt & pepper
- 200ml water
- Olive oil

Directions:
1. Scrub potatoes, cut them into quarters, rub them with oil and garlic and thyme sprigs, season with salt and pepper.

2. Put the potatoes in an ovenproof dish and place in the oven at 200°C (392°F) for 30 minutes.

3. Place the fish in an ovenproof dish, sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in oven at 200°C (392°F) for 8 minutes.

4. Boil water in a pot without cover and cook the peas for 2.5 - 5 minutes (depending on the frozenness of the peas), pour the liquid off, but save it.

5. Blend the peas with 1 TBS oil and a little of the broth, season with salt and pepper.

6. Place the fish on top of the blended peas and serve with lemon slices and dill, and the potatoes alongside.

Additional Information:
I have been working late for weeks and neglected making dinner. I need to get the household management and health back to order. It feels good to be able to focus on nutritious food again. Florian liked it very much, as it had been quite sometime since I spent effort making dinner. However, Joshua refused to eat it. After a bout of sickness this week, Joshua received special attention and he became very spoilt. We are trying to build back the discipline again. Even as I am writing, he is crying and making a fuss upstairs at the shower. However, as parents, we have to win the battle.

I got this recipe from the Danish newspaper. The original directions in Danish:
1. Skrub kartoflerne, skær dem i kvarte, gnid dem og hvidløg med olie og timiankviste, krydr med salt og peber.
2. Læg kartoflerne i et ovnfast fad, og sæt dem i ovnen ved 200 grader i 30 min.
3. Læg fisken i et ovnfast fad med bagepapir, og steg med i ovnen i 10-12 min.
4. Kog ærterne op i urtebouilon, hæld væden fra, men gem den.
5. Blend ærterne med 1 spsk. olie og lidt af bouillonen, smag til med salt og peber.
6. Anret fisken med citronskiver og dild, ærtepure og kartofler og med soltørrede tomater ved siden af.

References:
- Søndagsavisen

Chinese Steamed Cod Fish/Den Kinesiske Dampede Torsk/蒸鳕鱼[zhēng xuě yú]

Recipe from Jannie Sze Silfverberg

Preparation and cooking time: 20-30 minutes

Ingredients:
- 750g cod fish fillet
- 1 TBS olive oil
- 1 handful of ginger cut into thin strips
- 1 TBS Chinese Shaoxing rice wine (optional, but not recommended for babies)

Ingredients for garlic oil:
- 2 TBS cooking oil
- 1 - 2 clove garlic, pressed or finely chopped

Ingredients for sauce:
- 2 TBS light soy sauce
- 2 TBS Chinese sesame oil
- 2 TBS Chinese Shaoxing rice wine (optinonal)
- ½ tsp sugar (I prefer it without, but My Superstar prefers it with, your choice)
- A few dashes of pepper powder

Garnish:
- 1 handful of ginger cut into thin strips
- 1 stalk of spring onions cut into strips
- 1 stalk of coriander loosely chopped (optional)

Directions:
1. Drizzle ginger, olive oil and Shaoxing wine (skip this if there is a baby) on fish and steam for 8 minutes.

2. During the last 2 minutes of steaming, heat oil and fry garlic on a separate sauce pan until golden brown.

3. Garnish spring onions and ginger over the fish and pour the sizzling hot garlic oil on top of the steamed fish. (Remember to remove a portion of the fish for baby before doing this!).

4. Meanwhile, heat the sauce mixture on the same sauce pan until bubbles and pour on top of the remaining steamed fish and off the fire.

If you are running short of time, just pour the sauce directly without heating it. It will still taste very good.

For babies:
From 6 months (without adding the salt).

Nutritional value:
Fish are high in protein, heme iron, vitamin D (an important vitamin for strong bones), low in "bad" fats and contain Essential Fatty Acid (EFA's) - Omega-3 fatty acids. The Omega 3 fatty acids from fish are EPA and DHA, which are not found in any other protein source, not even in meat or plants. EFA's found in fish and fish oil products help fight off both physical and mental diseases. Eating fish 2 times a week is recommended for both adults and children by the US FDA.

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Additional Information:
Using cod fish fillets instead of the whole fish help to reduce preparation time to 20 minutes, as you do not need to spend time to clean the fish and its internal organs, etc.

Don't be intimidated by the way the ingredient list is organised. It is basically the same few ingredients, but organised in this way to show the difference the ingredients is used in the preparation.

I tried this out a few years ago, and tried this out again this evening. I took 30 minutes, as I am not so experienced, but it should only take about 20 minutes with experience. I used to take more than an hour making any food when I just started cooking once in a blue moon a few years ago!

The Excellent Cod Fish/Torsk fisk/鳕鱼[xuě yú]

The Danish authorities say from 6 months, www.babycenter.co.uk say 7 months, some others say from 12 months.

If there is only one single white fish that I could choose to introduce to J, it would be the Cod Fish due to its high nutritional value.

Directions:
1. Steam the cod fish fillet (75-100g) together with a teaspoon of chopped leek - white portion (optional), 2 slices of chopped up ginger (optional, it reduces the fishy smell of fish) and 1 teaspoon of olive oil for 6 minutes or until fish is cooked

2. Drain fish (together with leek and ginger) and puree with blender with a little of the stock left from the pot (to get a powdery texture)* or mince it with a knife and fork (to retain the fish texture for older babies)

3. Cool down and serve (Note: For fish, since J only eats it 2 times a week, I prefer to make it fresh just before meal time than freezing it. )

Tips:
1. Also ideal to serve mix with carrot puree.

2. If you find it too troublesome to make such small portion for baby, you can increase the portion proportionately and eat it yourself for lunch. Just don't blend your own portion. Very often, when i don't have time to take lunch, i will feed myself while feeding J.

Nutritional Value:
Fish are high in protein, heme iron, vitamin D (an important vitamin for strong bones), low in "bad" fats and contain Essential Fatty Acid (EFA's) - Omega-3 fatty acids. The Omega 3 fatty acids from fish are EPA and DHA, which are not found in any other protein source, not even in meat or plants. EFA's found in fish and fish oil products help fight off both physical and mental diseases. Eating fish 2 times a week is recommended for both adults and children by the US FDA.

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Additional Comments:
The Danes think that fish is good, and the Chinese believe that it can increase the intelligence of children. Cod fish brings back a lot of childhood memories… When I was young, we were poor, and cod fish was (and still is) expensive in Singapore. My mother would save and pinch to buy cod fish and cod liver oil to feed us, she herself eating almost only plain porridge. I seem to be walking in my mother’s footsteps… I am now saving the organic food for J. (OK, You may be wondering why my IQ is not any higher given that my mother had been feeding me cod fish and cod liver oil. My answer is that I could have been even dumber, if my mother hadn’t fed me fish :-)

Looking at the Japanese, I believe my mother must be right. The Japanese are known to have the highest average IQ among human beings, with one of the highest life expectancy rate and with the highest number of centurions. Looking at their diet, fish constitutes a major part. In fact, a large part of it is eaten raw. Thus, in this matter, I will be taking a leaf from the Japanese, and my mother :-)

Some say that it is important to select the "white flesh" fish types, because they are most easily digestible and lowest on the allergen list. Cod fish is considered among one of the safest to introduce. But some say salmon is also a good choice, which contrary to popular belief, has lower levels of mercury than one thinks. Cold water fish have lower levels of mercury and also contain higher levels of Omega 3's.

Due to the concern of mercury-tainted fish and fish being a high allergen food, I am a little bit in doubt of when fish should be introduced to J. Thus I have waited until now… but I intend to introduce it to J in the coming weeks (7+ months old), since both Daddy and I are not allergic to fish, and I guess everything in moderation should be ok.

Given so much conflicting advice surrounding fish, in order to maximize the benefit of fish and to minimize the risk, here is my action plan:

- Until J is introduced to fish and continuing on, I will take my omega-3 fish oil supplements daily and religious as the nutrients are passed on from breast milk

- I intend to start with cod fish for baby between 7 months, and 1 week later followed by salmon, once cod fish is established.

- I plan to give a small portion to J - meaning only 1 serving a day

- I will monitor to give only one time cod fish and one time salmon each week, together making up serving fish twice a week and not more

- I will be avoiding fish species such as swordfish, king mackerel, tuna, shark and tilefish known to contain a high level of mercury

- I will only be buying fish from reputable fish handler in Lyngby (although he is super arrogant and I dislike buying fish from him) and IRMA supermaket... no more money left for shopping... which means that I will be saying bye-bye to my dream Mulberry bag :-(

References:
http://www.babycenter.com/408_when-can-my-baby-eat-fish_1368510.bc

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/introducingfishtobaby.htm

http://www.parenting.com/article/Baby/Health/Should-Babies-Eat-Fish

http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/2006111w.html