I live just a few blocks from Desporte’s Seafood shop, a family business that has been around for generations, and I go there as often as I can. I love fresh seafood, but crab has to be my favorite, especially well-made crab cakes. What do I mean by well made? Simple, cakes that have a minimum of breadcrumbs and are reasonable seasoned.
Crab is expensive, but it is so delicious it is worth the splurge every once in a while, and crab cakes are pretty easy to make too. I like to use lump crab, just make sure to pick through the meat to find any pieces of shell that they might have missed but be careful not to break up the lumps.
The basics ingredients are crab meat, egg, mayo, Tonys, red pepper flakes, and cilantro (I like cilantro over parsley, which adds very little flavor), a good squeeze of fresh lemon, and a pinch of black pepper. Combine all the ingredients, form into patties, about ½ an inch thick, and fry in butter (remember the cook’s adage, butter to brown, oil to cook), Fry in a well oiled pan for 2 to 3 minutes, and give them a nudge, if they are still stuck, give them few minutes until you can flip them with out breaking them up. Serve immediately, with a good tartar sauce and a wedge of lemon.
Another method is to follow the recipe above, but form the crab mixture into small balls, roll in egg yolk, then breadcrumbs, and deep fry until crispy.
If you just can’t swing the price of crab, and still crave seafood, large shrimp fried until crispy are a good substitute. Many people avoid frying as being unhealthy, but when food is fried properly, it is better for you than something sauteed in a pan. Pan frying takes longer, and allows the shrimp to absorb more oil.
Here is a recipe I got from a Vietnamese friend: always use clean oil (unused is best, but filtered is OK too), make sure that the pan is not more than one half full of oil (you don’t want an oil fire in your kitchen), then bring the oil up to the proper temp. Never, never fry food that is cold. Let the shrimp sit on the countertop until they reach room temp. Toss in dry tempura powder, then allow to rest until they become tacky (if you want to speed the process up, lightly spritz with water). Next toss them in panko breadcrumbs until well coated. Fry just a few at a time, remember if you crowd the pan, the temp will drop, and the shrimp will absorb too much oil. The last rule is not to overcook the shrimp. A few shrimp cooking in hot oil will be ready in less than two minutes. Just as soon as they start to brown, they ae done. The last rule, and one of the most important, is to serve immediately! Put them on paper towels to absorb excess oil, give them a little sprinkle of salt, and dig in! A good home made aioli is a great dipping sauce for fried shrimp.