When I asked my friend, Kristen, to grab some fresh (or frozen) king crab legs while she was shopping before our seafood party, she asked me if I'd ever used the canned Philips brand. I shook my head and winced. Kristen insisted that it's good, and indeed it might be if you like crab cakes of filler with a hint of crab, but I make mine super fresh... The crab and veggies are the meal. The filler that you get in restaurants, well, that doesn't exist in my dish. The breading you see on the cakes below is simply a dredging of Progresso bread crumbs. The green you see is fresh parsley and crunchy celery. The red? Red peppers and crab, crab, crab! I'm not gonna lead you on, though. Truthfully: It's a lot of work, but totally worth it.
So the work part. If serving for guests, I'd suggest prepping the night before. Dice up these veggies and store:
- 1/2 red pepper
- 1 small yellow onion
- 2 ribs of celery
- 2 cloves garlic
(Increase the amount based on the amount of crab cakes you want. This amount was for 6 cakes).
Still day prior, and here's the work. Boil your king crab (or snow, but snow is saltier) for 4 minutes. I used 32 oz). Remove from boiling water and remove the crab meat. Yes, it's labor intensive. The spikes get you. Crab flies about the kitchen. But if you do this the day prior to your dinner party, you have time to clean your mess and dispose of those smelly shells. (Unless you live in Japan and prep on a night when burnable trash pickup isn't scheduled for the next morning).
Put your crab in a Tupperware and store in the fridge.
Dinner party day has arrived! Now soften (not much, just a tad) those pre-prepped veggies by warming them in a tablespoon of butter or olive oil. Add veggies to bowl of crab. Add 3/4 C mayo, 1 large egg, dash of old bay (be careful if using snow crab, as it has much more salt), 1/2 C seasoned bread crumbs & a nice dollop of grainy mustard.
Mix well, form into cakes and bake for 20 minutes in a 400 degree oven, turning midway. Serve with remoulade sauce, which is another post for another day.
Spend the time making these fresh crab cakes and your guests will sing your praises!
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Location:Shioiricho 2-Chōme,Yokosuka,Japan
