Infuse Thai Flavor into Green Curry Crab Cakes

When developing recipes even the most inspired ideas can come to screeching halt when an ingredient isn't available. I had originally planned for some awesome crab and corn cakes this week, but after visiting 3 stores I couldn't find any corn -- fresh, canned or otherwise. Taking that as a sign that using corn in the middle of winter was probably not the best idea, I went home with over a pound of crab meat and no idea what I was going to do with it.

Once home and with the freshness clock ticking on the crab, I rummaged through my pantry and fridge looking for some inspiration. The first thing I ran into was a bag of crispy fried shallots in the freezer. Then, in the veggie drawer, I came across some leftover lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and galangal from a recent batch of beef rendang. A quick look in the pantry turned up a carton of coconut milk, and as fast as my original idea had crashed and burned, a new idea was born.

Because it's a crab cake (not a bread cake or mayonnaise cake), I tend to pass on the traditional binders such as flour and egg, which tend to dilute the crab flavor. Instead, I bind my crab cakes using either shrimp or fish puree. With very little filler and giant hunks of sweet crabmeat redolent of a Thai green curry, these crab cakes may not be very traditional, but they are pretty darn tasty.

My crab meat was pretty salty so I didn't need to add any salt to the mixture, but if you find your crab is on the bland side, add a bit of salt. These are awesome served with just a wedge of lemon or lime, but if you want something more elaborate, try mixing cream cheese, thai chili sauce and lime juice together for a tasty new take on tartar sauce.