Vegan Crab Cakes

[dstewart]

When I got a craving for crab cakes, I scoured the web for recipes, and found vegan crab cake recipes all based on tofu. I’m not much for tofu; it’s a pallid plain mash at best. Chickpeas, on the other hand... nature’s best, and perfect for a crab cake sans crab!

Old Bay brand Seasoning is in your grocer's herbs and spices aisle, most likely.


Vegan Crab Cakes
Makes 4 cakes. Doubles fine. Maybe even triples! (Substitute gluten-free bread crumbs, soy sauce, etc., if you have celiac friends, as I do.)

= 1 14.5-oz can of chickpeas (I like Bush’s brand, reduced sodium; they have the best texture and taste I think)
= 1/3 cup bread crumbs (preferably unseasoned)
= 1/4 c chopped green onions (substitute: any onion)
= 1/4 cup chopped celery (substitute: any color bell pepper or other crunchy vegetable)
= 2 Tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley (optional)
= 1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
= 1 tsp tamari or soy sauce
= 1 tsp Dijon or other non-yellow mustard
= 1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
= 2 tsp fresh lemon or lime juice
= 1 Tbsp vegan mayonnaise, tahini, or chickpea water
= 1 to 3 tsp chickpea water (as needed)

Drain the chickpeas, keeping the liquid.

In a food processor, pulse chickpeas to a coarse chop. Do not puree; you want to see even a few good pieces of chickpea.

Toss everything into a mixing bowl, and mix it up. You want a formable consistency, so add chickpea water a little at a time as needed until you get it.

At this point, you can let the mixture sit in the refrigerator a while, or not.

Heat a nonstick pan to medium.

Form the mixture into cakes. It should make 4. It may be delicate to handle.

Saute until a crunchy brown on one side, flip, and saute until crunchy brown on the other side.

Serve these like any crab cake, on a plate plain or with some vegan tartar sauce, a selection of mustards, or any other sauce you like. Or make a sandwich on a toasted English muffin or potato bun; open-faced with a sauce or mustard topping is good too.

Nutrition:
Per cake, using a vegan mayo (less fat, sodium if no mayo):
144 calories
3.6 g fat
559 mg sodium
24 g carbohydrate
5 g fiber
6 g protein

[Faith in DC]

that's a good idea using the chickpeas. I make a mock tuna salad with them, and I swear they take on a seafood taste.

[coverley54]

Thanks for the research. Sounds yummy.

C

[BW]

Hi,
I tried this tonight and I loved it.

[dstewart]

Hi,
I tried this tonight and I loved it.

BW, thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

I'd like to point out that nothing in this needs to be cooked, so it would be a decent sandwich spread even without the cooking. I would leave out the "flax egg" and probably the vegan mayo in that case. But other than that, it is good to go as "vegan crab salad."

[dstewart]

By the way, I tried a hot mustard---what many people consider "hot Chinese mustard"---with these tonight, and wow, was it a great condiment for them!

To make "hot Chinese mustard," use a dry yellow mustard---Colman's or Spice Island are both good---and mix in a 2-to-1 ratio of mustard to cold water. Adjust to the consistency you like with more mustard or more water. Let the mustard sit for 15 minutes.

The mustard is aromatically hot, like horseradish or wasabi, rather than the capsaicin-based heat of chile peppers. It'll give you a sinus-clearing blast, but it does not stick around and hurt like hot peppers can. In fact, the heat of home-made hot mustard will decline rapidly after an hour or so; it doesn't store well if you want it really hot. Luckily, it's so easy to whip up a small (and sufficient) amount in a trice.

And no, there's nothing particularly Chinese about "hot Chinese mustard." It's just two simple things: Dry mustard and cold water. And mmm, mmm, good, on these vegan crab cakes as well as so much more.

[ncyg46]

definitely gonna try this...it sounds great! Have all the ingredients already!