I rarely buy magazines now, whether food, travel, politics or fashion-related, mainly because I have so little time to read them these days. When someone told me on Twitter that I got a mention in BBC’s Olive magazine, however, I rushed out to buy a copy, only to find out that I’d bought the wrong issue. I ended up with copies for both July and August, and it was in July’s issue that I found some eye-catching recipes from Indonesian food writer Sri Owen, who has written numerous cookery books, including Sri Owen’s Indonesian Food, published last year. Out of the four recipes, all from this book – sate udang (prawn satay), kambing bacem (spiced tamarind lamb), panggang bebek dengan kuah bayem (duck breast with spinach sauce) and aromatic crabcakes, I chose to replicate the last one. The recipe is taken from Olive magazine.
Ingredients: (makes 20 smaller ones as a starter, or 12 larger ones as a main)
- 450-560g fresh or frozen crabmeat, white meat only, or white and brown meat from 2 good-size live crabs to make the same weight
- 225g new or waxy potatoes, cooked and mashed with a pinch of salt
- 3 tbsp finely chopped spring onions
- 3 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tbsp finely chopped kaffir lime leaves
- 1 tbsp finely chopped lemongrass (inner part only)
- 1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp (or less) chilli flakes
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp rice flour or plain flour
- ½ tsp golden caster sugar
- ½freshly ground black pepper
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- groundnut oil, or olive oil, for frying
What to do next:
Mix all the ingredients, except for the egg and oil. Then add the egg to the crab mixture and check the seasoning. Divide the mixture into 12 or 20 portions, mould each into a ball and chill for 30 minutes.
Heat oil in large non-stick frying pan. Flatten each crab ball to make a round, flat cake. Fry in batches, cooking each side for 2 minutes or until golden. Remove and drain on kitchen paper.
I served these with a mixed salad and Nana’s Spicy Hot Ketchup. These were absolutely delicious, and really easy to prepare as well. I also made a batch using tuna fish for the husband, who doesn’t eat crab. I’ll be making both types again very soon…
Other recipes on Lay The Table.
@ Lay The Table
