Miso mayonnaise stands in for tartar sauce. Find miso paste and Table Nuts, a spicy rice cracker, at Tokyo, a Japanese grocery store on Ellsworth Avenue in Shadyside. For extra flavor, use up to 1/4 cup of roasted peanut oil in the mayo.
1 pound lump crab meat
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons miso-flavored mayonnaise, preferably homemade
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
Table Nuts crackers, slightly broken but not crushed
Canola or peanut oil for frying
Crumble the crab meat into a bowl. Mix in egg and mayonnaise. Add panko and toss to combine. Refrigerate for one hour, or up to 8 hours.
Place cracker pieces in a shallow dish.
Using a 1/3 cup measure, gently divide the mixture to form crab cakes. Do not pack the mixture, or the crackers will not stick well. Roll the crab mixture in the cracker pieces, pressing gently so that the crackers adhere. Place crab cakes on waxed paper and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
In a deep saucepan, heat oil to 375 degrees. Deep fry the crab cakes until browned and cooked through, about 60 seconds. They may be kept warm on a rack in a 200 degree oven while you finish frying the batch. Makes 4 servings.
Thursday, May 13, 1999
