Sri Lankan mackerel curry and sardine som tam: Mitch Tonks’ tinned fish recipes

Sardine som tam

This Thai-style salad is full of flavour and really easy to put together. Deep-frying makes tinned sardines really crisp, so you can easily crumble them over the top.

Prep 15 min
Cook 10 min
Serves 4

2 large carrots, trimmed and peeled
1 green papaya, peeled
15cm-long cucumber
1 red onion, peeled and very thinly sliced from root to tip
Vegetable oil, for deep frying
1 x 120g tin sardines in olive oil
6 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 handful fresh mint leaves
1 handful fresh coriander leaves

For the dressing
4-6 small garlic cloves, peeled
2 small red chillies, or more if you like it hot
1 tbsp palm sugar, or brown sugar
Juice of 1 lime
6 tbsp fish sauce

Thinly slice the carrots, papaya and cucumber, then cut into long, thin matchsticks (if you are lucky enough to have the Thai tool specifically designed for this task, use that instead). Put the strips in a large bowl and add the sliced red onion.

Drain the can of sardines, deep-fry the fish in hot vegetable oil for five minutes, until crisp, then lift out and drain on a plate lined with kitchen paper.

For the dressing, bruise the garlic, chillies and sugar in a mortar, add the lime juice and fish sauce, then pound to break everything down into a paste. It should be hot, sweet and salty, so adjust to taste as necessary.

Pour the dressing over the shredded vegetables and toss to coat. Add the tomato quarters, mint and coriander, and toss again. Crush the sardines and mix half of them into the salad. Transfer to a platter and serve with the remaining crisp crushed fish scattered over the top.

Russian-style Olivier salad with bonito

Tuna and good mayonnaise is a hard combination to beat. Add a few veg to create an old-school Olivier salad. If you like, use the oil from the fish tin to make the mayo, which transforms this into something really special.

Prep 15 min
Cook 10 min
Serves 1-2

1 x 120g tin bonito tuna in olive oil
1 carrot, trimmed, peeled and cut into 10mm dice
1 potato, peeled and cut into 10mm dice
1 handful frozen peas (about 40g)
A couple of good spoonfuls of mayonnaise, homemade or bought in (I like Japanese Kewpie, which is lovely and creamy)
1 spring onion, trimmed and finely sliced
1 small handful curly parsley

Drain the oil from the tin of tuna, leaving the fish in the tin.

Boil the diced carrot, potato and peas until tender, then drain and refresh under cold water. When cold, fold the drained veg and the spring onion into the mayonnaise.

Spread the mayo mix directly over the tuna in the tin, finish with a sprinkle of chopped curly parsley and eat straight from the tin.

Sri Lankan-style mackerel curry

This gorgeous curry sauce can be made in batches. Chill or freeze, then just reheat, stir in a tin of your favourite fish and you’ll have a delicious fish curry that’s ready in minutes.

Prep 10 min
Cook 40 min
Serves 4

4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
5cm knob fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
Vegetable oil, for frying
20 fresh curry leaves
1 pinch fenugreek seeds
1 tsp black mustard seeds
½ tsp caster sugar
1 tbsp medium curry powder (I like Bolst’s), or use a hotter curry powder to taste
½ tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp ground turmeric
1 x 200ml can coconut milk
1 tbsp tamarind paste
1 lemongrass stick, bruised with rolling pin
1 x 120g tin mackerel in olive oil, drained
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 fresh green finger chillies, sliced
1 big handful coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1 lime, quartered, to serve

Put the garlic, onion and ginger in the small bowl of a food processor and blitz to a paste.

In a pan large enough to take everything later, heat a few teaspoons of oil. When hot, add the curry leaves, the fenugreek and mustard seeds, and fry for a minute or so, until they crackle. Add the onion paste and fry, stirring, for a few minutes, until slightly coloured. Add the sugar and all the other spices, then cook, stirring, until the raw smell of the spices is gone. Add 250ml water, the coconut milk, tamarind and lemongrass, stir to combine, then leave to simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.

Taste the curry sauce and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Add the drained fish, simmer gently for 10 minutes, then stir in the chopped tomatoes and sliced chillies. Sprinkle over the coriander and serve with rice and a squeeze of fresh lime.