Coconut Crusted Crab Cakes with Mango & Avocado Salsa
Ok so this is the third fish recipe in a row. I’m not turning into a fish blogger or anything, just going through a phase. This recipe is an entry for this months Royal Foodie Joust run by Jenn. The ingredients to use this time were seafood, coconut and lime, a classic combo. I love making fish cakes, especially since I discovered the secret to the ultimate crunchy coating. I originally thought of adding more coconut milk to the cakes but then I decided to add just a little and use dried, unsweetened coconut in the crust. It worked really well because the flavour of the crab isn’t overpowered at all. I used white and brown meat because, although I love the texture and flavour of the white meat, I adore the strong-flavoured brown meat too.
I served the cakes with my favourite avocado and mango salsa (recipe here), keeping everything light and bursting with tropical flavours. If you’re feeling the chill here in the UK at the moment, this recipe will bring a little sunshine into your life!
This makes six large cakes but I think next time I will make them smaller so they are easier to handle and will look nicer on the plate. Although I enjoyed my big cakes, they didn’t exactly look great (apologies for the poor photo). We saved some for the following evening but when I returned home they had been eaten by hungry men! I picked up an answer phone message on my way back, ‘I’m just letting you know that we’re eating those crab cakes and there’s nothing you can do about it!‘ I let it go as our friend described them as the best crab cakes he’s ever eaten! His comment made me very happy and reminded me of the reason I love cooking so much.
Coconut Crusted Crab Cakes
500g crab meat, roughly equal amounts of white and brown meat, with an emphasis on the brown
4 spring onions, finely chopped
2 medium potatoes
1 small bunch coriander, chopped
1 inch ginger, grated
1 red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
3 tablespoons coconut milk
Juice of half a lime
Polenta and dried, unsweetened coconut, for crusting the cakes
Beaten egg, for dipping
Oil, for frying
- Boil the potatoes, drain and mash.
- Add the crab meat to a large bowl along with all the other ingredients except the polenta and dried coconut. Season.
- Shape the mixture into cakes and chill for at least half an hour.
- spread some of the polenta on a plate and add enough coconut so that you have a mix of two thirds polenta to one third coconut.
- Dip each cake in the beaten egg first and then coat really well in the polenta mix.
- Shallow fry the crab cakes until golden brown and crispy on both sides.
- Serve with the mango and avocado salsa.
Category: Blogging Events, Fish, Gluten-free, Main Dishes, Sandwiches, Starters, Vegetables 17 comments »
March 30th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
These look amazing! And no wheat. Love it!
March 30th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
I love crab cakes and you’ve added into the mix! Good luck in the Joust.
March 30th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
Hon, you can turn in to a fish blogger anytime! I LOVE this dish you made.
March 31st, 2008 at 12:17 am
This a the perfect entry for the Joust. Love the crusty coconut coating!!
March 31st, 2008 at 10:09 am
Crab…oh my, just what I need to say first day of the week. Really!! I had to let out a little giggle at the first sentence because I’m going through a bit of a phase myself with the fish posts. The seafood that I’m able to get here is so very, very different from Hawaii!
As for your comment on the plastic soup…isn’t the mere idea of that junk floating around in the ocean just awful? Aside from the fact that it’s so close to my home roots, the thought of contamination to food resources from the sea makes me ill. Down with plastic!
March 31st, 2008 at 11:51 am
Simply Gluten Free – Thank you, I’m going to set up a gluten-free category soon so that people can find the recipes easily.
Peter – I love them too. Good luck to you in the Joust too.
Cynthia – Thank you! Maybe I will…..
Bellini Valli – That crusty coconut coating did turn out rather well I have to say!
Rowena – Yes, that plastic article really did get me thinking. It’s so disgusting that we have let things get into a state like that. Down with plastic!
March 31st, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Helen I’ve just dicovered your site and found some really great stuff!
The coconut crab cake looks FANTASTIC and I’m glad you didn’t add more coconut milk and went for more dry coconut instead because for some reason I don’t like the coconut milk so much. Good luck for the contest!
March 31st, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Coconut crusted crab cakes with lime and mango salsa sounds so good!
March 31st, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Great idea to use the coconut. What a lovely, zingy, summery dish… Shame we’re only just emerging out of winter over here!
March 31st, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Great minds think alike, I also made mango and avo salsa tonight(will post tomorrow). Love the crab cake idea. I cheated and just served crumbed fish with mine.
April 1st, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Here in the eastern US, these crab cakes might be considered heresy — but I think they look delicious. The coconut is definitely not traditional, but makes a nice counterpoint with the mango salsa.
April 1st, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Great recipe! My daughter’s beau is gluten intolerant so it is always nice to find recipes that work for him.
Looks delicous!
April 1st, 2008 at 2:02 pm
This looks so good Helen! I love crab cakes and with this coating, they are excellent! great job and best of luck!
April 1st, 2008 at 4:26 pm
They what, ate the fishcakes without you!!! ah, guess it was worth all the praise you received afterwards. This sounds great. I am literally going to have to stop blogging for a full week so I can go back to the beginning of your blog, for inspiration!
oh and now, because of you, i’m asking for the names of the flowers and the chance to win a prize – thanks a lot… lol
honestly, thanks
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:11 pm
These look delicious! I really must try cooking with fresh crab sometime
And thanks for the polenta tip too!
(Btw, I just found you through the joust – what a great way to find new blogs!)
April 7th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
I absolutely MUST try this. Sounds heavenly!
August 12th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
I made this tonight. WONDERFUL! It is the perfect balance of sweet, savory, and spicy. I’ll be posting about it on my blog in the near future. Thanks for posting this recipe!
Renees last blog post..Mango Berry Banana Smoothie