Peace Corps Cooking: Tuna Cakes Recipe

Here in Vanuatu, we volunteers are getting used to having limited access to our favorite foods from back home, as well as the methods and means of storage for them. 

It's probably easiest to be a vegan here, since dairy is difficult to store (no fridge) and fresh meat is hard to come by (also...there's no fridge). However, as a meat eater and someone who loves to cook, I am excited for these next two years of experimenting with what I have available to me at the local stores and in Port Vila (which has a lot more available, but nothing like the variety that the stores back home have). 

I used to make this back at home with a few ingredients I can't find here/store in a fridge (I miss you, Greek yogurt), so I've modified it. I would make it at home when I "had nothing to eat" so I'd dig through my cabinet and fridge to scrounge this together. Consider it the poor man's crab cake. 

This is my recipe for Fried Tuna Cakes as it was published in our Peace Corps newsletter, the Vanuatu American, this July. 

Makes about six 3-inch cakes.

Materials:

• Mixing bowl

• Can opener

• Frying pan

• 2 spoons or a spatula

• 1 hammer or heavier jar/can

• Towel

• Plastic bag

Ingredients 

• 15oz can of tuna

• 3 eggs

• 1/2 or 1/3 of an o nion, finely chopped (pro-tip...use your manioc scr atcher to shred it!)

• 10 breakfast crackers, or 10 spoonfuls of bread crumbs

• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce

• Salt & pepper for taste

• Oil

• Optional: chili powder, shaved carrots, lemon juice to taste

Directions:

1. Put the crackers in the plastic bag and wrap it in a towel. Use the hammer or jar/can to crush the crackers into crumbs. Set aside.

2. In the mixing bowl, mix the tuna, eggs, and onion. Add the breadcrumbs. If the consistency seems too wet, add more. Add soy sauce and seasoning to taste.

3. Heat up a few tablespoons of oil on the frying pan over medium heat. Test the oil’s heat by adding a small pinch of the tuna mixture. It will be hot enough when you see the tuna sizzling on the edges.

4. With your hands, scoop some of the tuna mixture and form it into a patty, about 3 inches wide, as thick as a burger. Place the patties in the pan about 2 inches apart.

5. Flip the tuna cakes once the bottoms are golden brown. If you don’t have a spatula, use two spoons to flip them, trying not to break them.

6. Once the tuna cakes are cooked, remove from the pan and repeat with the rest of the mixture.

7. Serve with a side salad or some green beans. Enjoy!