Spicy canned tuna cakes, served with a lecture on responsible fishing

You cannot go wrong with canned tuna during financial hardship. It was my go-to protein choice as a penniless and scholarship-dependent university student. Packs of two-minute noodles also saved the day. 

Canned tuna is as perfect today as it was 15 years ago during my student days. 

A can is inexpensive (less than R25 for a house brand version, and leading retailers often run bundled promotions on canned tuna). Tinned tuna also lasts for a long time; some brands can last for two years in your pantry. It’s also versatile; you can make a classic tuna-mayo sandwich, throw it in a salad or wrap, or make fishcakes, as I did a few days ago (more on the recipe below). 

The downside to canned tuna is the ethics of how fish are caught. Canned tuna has a chequered history of irresponsible fishing practices. Fishermen/women often throw a large net into the ocean to catch thousands of fish, accidentally catching non-target species like dolphins or turtles. There have also been reported incidents of fishing nets being disposed of into the ocean, worsening the pollution crisis, and injuring or even killing marine life. 

The responsible, sustainable, and widely accepted way of fishing is to catch fish individually by using a fishing pole, with a bait, line and hook. The good thing is that there is growing awareness of responsible fishing practices and demonstrable reforms. 

Most grocery retailers — especially the one whose logo is black-and-white and prides itself on “the difference” — state on the label whether their canned tuna has been caught responsibly. In South Africa, there are no legal requirements for responsible fishing labelling on products. However, there are requirements for basic labelling, such as the type of tuna, the product’s net weight, and nutritional information. Buying sustainably sourced fish is the right thing to do. More about all that here.

With my preaching for the week out of the way, let’s get back to making fishcakes. 

Traditional fishcakes contain large pieces of flaked fish, usually hake, cod, haddock, or pollock. These white fishes can be expensive, going against Daily Maverick’s series of budget-friendly recipes during January. 

So, I tweaked the fishcake recipe, using sustainably sourced canned tuna fish. That’s the only tweaking involved as my version follows the traditional fishcake recipe, which requires mixing fish with mashed potatoes, finely diced onion, a beaten egg to bind the ingredients, and coating the fishcakes with flour or breadcrumbs to add a crispy texture. 

The tuna fishcakes turned out excellent and delicious. Despite using canned tuna, the fishcakes tasted the same as those made with hake or haddock. But then, my cooking skills are still woeful. My palate is still basic and maturing, so my judgement of flavours is suspect.

Ray’s spicy and sustainable canned tuna fishcakes

The fishcakes while being cooked. (Photos: Ray Mahlaka)