Chamchijun (참치전) Tuna Cakes

I'm excited to share my first post using my new camera! Just a little warning - I'm still trying to figure that thing out because there are so many settings that are manually adjustable so bear with me while I learn. So for the first high-quality photo post, I'm sharing chamchijun (cham-chee-jun 참치전) which are kind of like crab cakes except they're made with tuna and also have a bit of sesame oil mixed in to make it taste more Korean. They're great as a protein for a meal or as an appetizer.

Ingredients [makes 8 to 10 cakes]:
2 cans of tuna (chunk light or albacore)
1 egg
¼ cup + ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup diced onion
2 cloves minced garlic
¼ teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
+ oil for frying

First, dice up some onion, mince some garlic, and drain the liquid from the tuna and put it in a bowl.

In a large bowl, combine the tuna, onions, and garlic and then drizzle in some sesame oil, add in some sesame seeds, break in an egg, sprinkle in some salt, grind in some pepper, toss in 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs, and then stir everything together with a fork.

Use a 1-1/2 tablespoon cookie scooper to portion out little balls of the tuna mixture and then dump it into a bowl of panko and gently toss to get a nice coating of crumbs on the outside.

Heat up a non-stick skillet with some oil.

Add in the cakes and then use a spatula to press them down to flatten them. Give them about 2 or 3 minutes to cook on the first side before flipping over to reveal lovely golden cakes. Allow them to cook for another 2 or 3 minutes on the second side before plating and serving.

Serve these while they're still warm and crispy.

Here's the recipe page if you need it: