How To Make Indonesian Crabcakes
Sep 24th, 2009 by admin
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 World Foodie Guide.
Looks and sounds delicious. I miss all the lovely crabcakes we used to have in the Chesapeake Bay area (nearish Washington, DC), and trying to make my own here has proven challenging bc crab meat is so dear here. I like how the Indonesian version uses potato to make the crab meat go further . . . so will give it a try.
They do look oh so good and look at that wonderfully golden shade! Ahh so true, I hardly buy magazines nowadays too except for Donna Hay (love the styling). Congratulations on the mention too! What did they say?
I just love your traveleating blog. It will be a fantastic source for me. I travel a lot for business and choices will be easier having such reviews like yours.
ciao
The crabcake recipes I see usually use breadcrumbs as the binder – I much prefer the potatoes here! This recipe is being saved immediately.
I’m swamped with magazines, which I read only when I’m on the elliptical machine. I can’t bear to part with the cooking mags so they are piling up and I certainly don’t need more; thank goodness Olive features recipes online!
These look delicious, I’ll have to give them a try. Great photos too – lovely clean lighting!
An American in London – I’m sure the crabcakes you used to have were amazing! I agree, a little tub of white crab meat was pretty expensive, so the potato does help. If you get the balance right, you can still taste the crab. I would have preferred to have used chunks of fresh crab meat straight from the crab though…
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella – thanks! I’m sure I can whip these up in no time with a bit more practice. The mention is in the ‘Quotes’ bit in the sidebar on the top right!
sciopina – thank you! If you travel a lot, I’m sure you’ll have tips for me too. Look forward to exchanging information with you in the near future…
Tangled Noodle – I’m very good with controlling my magazine buying and I don’t save any of them. I cut out anything I want to keep and file it away under recipes or travel. Otherwise I’d go mad!
alexthepink – they’re really easy to make! Shot on my IKEA desk by the window…
Helen Yuet Ling
Oooh those look so delicious.
Did you like the ketchup?
I made some today with home-grown toms and made a second batch using green tomatoes too.
This sounds great. Reminds me that I have to find a store nearby that sells lemongrass. Unfortunately, not a lot of Asian ingredients to be found here…it’s mostly Hispanic, and I don’t know how to cook much South American food.
These sound delicious! I can’t wait to give them a go. With all those beautiful fresh ingredients you can’t go wrong!
Kavey – you know they wouldn’t have tasted so good without your Nana’s Spicy Hot Ketchup! I feel like an ambassador for it now, as I can’t stop talking about it!
Chinamatt – where are you living now?? Such a different world to China…
emma – thanks! I really enjoyed making them. I know the list of ingredients looks long, but they just all need to be thrown into one bowl and mixed! I don’t like complicated recipes, so I recommend this for a quick and easy meal.
Helen Yuet Ling
I love crab cakes but I don’t make them very often as I can rarely afford fresh crab meat so when I do buy one, I always want to eat it straight up or in spaghetti with chilli. I must try and force myself next time to make a big pile of spicy crab cakes and scoff the lot in one sitting.
Helen – I totally agree with you! It seemed a shame to empty the entire pot of crab into the bowl with the potato and everything else, but luckily these ended up being really delicious. I wish I lived by the sea…
These crab cakes look divine and I cannot wait to attempt them for myself. On the way back from Ireland we stopped off in Maryland and had some crab cakes from there which really got me hungry for them. I cannot wait to try your version.
OysterCulture – Maryland crab cakes! I’ve always wanted to try those. I was only in Maryland for such a short time that I didn’t get a chance to sample any…
Helen Yuet Ling
This looks very yummy. I will definitely try your recipe when I am back in Switzerland.
Janet – thanks! They’re really easy to make and well worth spending the money on a crab…