Cha ca (Vietnamese fish cake)

Wash and dry the fish fillets well, then cut them into cubes. In a small bowl, add sugar, salt, pepper, fish sauce, and oil. Mix well. Pour in the fish fillet cubes and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap. Place the dish in the freezer for 2 hours or until the fish is extremely chilled without actually freezing it. Grind the fish for the first time. After grinding all the fish, cover and place the bowl in the freezer to chill again for about 2 more hours. Let's grind it a second time. At this point, if the meat is chilled enough, you don't need to freeze it again, but I thought it was a little mushy, so I covered the bowl and put it in the freezer a third time for one more hour. Mix tapioca flour with baking powder and add to the ground fish bowl. Traditionally, we pound the mixture by hand, but I use my kitchen aid mixture with the paddle attachment. Gradually mix on slow speed flour mixture into the ground fish. Then I raise to medium speed and continue mixing for 5 minutes or until the mixture is well combined. Add the chopped green onion. Stir well. Now you're done with the fish paste. If there is still froth outside your bowl at this point, that is perfect. That means your fish paste still kept the juice in the fish. Now let's start heating the oil. Shape the fish paste into the size you want. Here is what I do. Place plastic wrap on a round deep dish, ideally 1 inch deep. Don't shape it too thin since the fish cake will turn out very dry after you fry it. Put a small amount of fish paste on. Cover the plastic wrap and press to spread the fish paste evenly into the shape of the dish. Take it out and now it's ready to fry. When the oil starts to smoke, drop the fish cake into the oil. Fry one side for about 6 minutes, then flip it over and continue fry another side for 6 more minutes until it is well done. Place on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil. Let it cool down a bit, slice, then serve. You can see doesn't it look great? Such an elastic texture. You can make a lot, then store in the freezer for several months.