Crab cakes

While I am living here in Moscow, I have the luxury of accessing their excellent quality seafood, especially Kamchatka crab (also known as Red King or Alaska crab) from the Bering Sea. As long as you have high-quality products on hand, you only need a few extra ingredients to make something delicious.

This dish can be served as a starter or as a light main course.

Makes about 14 patties

Ingredients

For crab cakes

• 2 large eggs, lightly whisked
• 500 g frozen Kamchatka crab legs, thawed, with core removed
• lemon zest and juice of 1 medium small lemon
• 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
• 4 tsp Greek yogurt
• 4 tsp mayonnaise
• 2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
• 2/3 cups + 1/2 cups panko, divided
• 1 tsp fine sea salt and 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• unsalted butter or vegetable oil for frying

For salad

• Romaine lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
• Cherry tomatoes, halved
• Snack/mini cucumbers, thickly sliced
• Red onion, thinly sliced

For dressings

Siracha Mayo

• 2 tsp siracha chili sauce
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp clear, unflavored rice vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Asian vinaigrette

• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce

Recipe Preparation

For dressings

Siracha Mayo: Combine all ingredients except salt and pepper in a small bowl, add salt and pepper to taste, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve with crab cakes.

Asian vinaigrette: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, taste and adjust with more vinegar/soy sauce depending on your liking. Cover and refrigerate until ready to dress the salad.

Crab cake assembly

In a large bowl, break up and shred crab meat. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
 
In another small bowl, mix together whisked eggs, Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice and zest, 2/3 cups panko, chopped dill, Old Bay, salt, and pepper until well combined. Add to shredded crab meat, and using a large spoon or spatula, combine all ingredients. Cover and let mixture sit in fridge for at least 30 minutes before handling.
 
Place remaining panko in a shallow bowl. Using wet hands, use about 2 tbsp of crab mixture to form a ¾”-thick cake. Repeat for remaining mixture. Coat patties in panko on both sides, pressing gently to adhere.
 
Heat 1 tbsp butter/oil in a medium frying pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches of about 3-4 cakes at a time and adding 1 tbsp oil to frying pan in between, cook until golden brown all over, about 2 minutes per side. Serve crab cakes with sriracha mayo.