Odeng

Fishcake

A fishcake served on salad
Main ingredients	fish, potato, breadcrumbs, or batter

A fishcake (sometimes written as fish cake) is a food item similar to a croquette, consisting of filleted fish or other seafood with potato patty, sometimes coated in breadcrumbs or batter, and fried.

The fishcake has been seen as a way of using up leftovers that might otherwise be thrown away. In Mrs Beeton's 19th century publication Book of Household Management, her recipe for fishcakes calls for "leftover fish" and "cold potatoes." More modern recipes have added to the dish, suggesting ingredients such as smoked salmon and vegetables.

Commonly, fishcakes used cod as a filling; however, as cod stocks have been depleted, other varieties of white fish are now used, such as haddock or whiting. Fishcakes may also use oily fish such as salmon for a markedly different flavour.

Fishcakes have also traditionally been made from salted fish (most commonly cod, haddock, or pollock). Fishcakes are also prepared without breadcrumbs or batter, and are made with a mixture of cooked fish, potatoes, and occasionally eggs formed into patties and then fried.

As fish has traditionally been a major dietary component of people living near seas, rivers, and lakes, many regional variations of the fish cake have arisen.

Variations can depend on what type of fish is used; how finely chopped the fish is; the use of milk or water; the use of flour or boiled potatoes; the use of eggs, egg whites, or no eggs; the cooking method (boiling, frying, or baking); and the inclusion of other ingredients (for example, shrimp, bacon, herbs, or spices).

In Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China and Vietnam, surimi (fish cakes) are a popular ingredient in hotpot, soups, stirfries, dim sum, or deep-fried and eaten as a snack. In parts of East Asia, fish balls are made of kneaded (not minced) fish dough.