Prepare all the ingredients.

Lightly grease a mixing bowl with a little cooking oil, then add the minced fish. Add the chopped shallots, garlic, green onion bulbs, dill, ground pepper, and seasoning powder. Mix well. Knead the mixture by hand until thoroughly combined—the more you knead, the firmer the fish cakes will be. After kneading, use a pestle or spoon to pound the mixture for about 10 minutes. Add the fish sauce and continue pounding for another 5 minutes. The mixture may loosen a bit after adding fish sauce, but keep pounding until it becomes sticky again.

Add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil (this helps keep the fish cakes tender when frying). Continue pounding. For best results, pound for a total of 20 minutes. If short on time, you can mix all the ingredients and pound for 10 minutes. You can also use a stand mixer, but hand-pounding gives a firmer texture. The mixture is ready when it turns white.

Transfer the fish mixture into a large or small plastic bag, as you prefer. Use a cutting board to press and spread the mixture evenly to the corners. Aim for a thickness of about 1/2 inch (1-1.2 cm) for the best frying results.

You can fry the whole piece, cut it into smaller pieces, or shape into balls as you like. You can also portion and freeze for later use.

I fry the whole piece, then cut it into bite-sized pieces. Serve hot for the best flavor. This dish is great dipped in chili sauce and served with rice. For kids, dip in fish sauce with a little ground pepper. You can also use garlic chili fish sauce—adjust to your taste.