Crab Furai
Flaked crab meat, corn and seasonings are shaped into patties, dredged in flour, dipped in beaten egg, covered in panko then deep fried until golden. Crab furai can be served as a snack or main course.
Ingredients
- 300 grams flaked cooked crab meat
- ⅓ cup sweet corn kernals (we used canned)
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon potato starch
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 egg beaten
- ½ cup panko
- cooking oil for deep frying
- ½ cup Japanese mayonnaise
- lemon juice
- lemon wedges to serve
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix together the crab meat, corn, salt, pepper and starch.
- Divide the crab mixture into eight equal portions and shape each portion into a patty about an inch thick.
- Place the flour, egg and panko in separate shallow bowls.
- Dredge each crab patty in flour, coat with egg then cover with panko.
- In a frying pan, heat enough cooking oil to reach a depth of at least two inches.
- Fry the crab patties (in batches if your frying pan is not so wide) until the coating is golden and crisp.
- Drain the cooked crab furai on paper towels.
- Stir lemon juice into the mayonnaise — just enough to make a pleasant balance.
- Serve the crab furai with the blended Japanese mayonnaise, and lemon wedges on the side.
Notes
I know — the crab cakes look “katsu”. Say “katsu” and most non-Japanese people I know think of deep-fried panko-coated deep fried pork, chicken and even vegetables.
Pretty much anything can be cooked katsu-style including crab. But since “katsu” means cutlet and there is no cutlet in this recipe, the crab cakes are crab furai.
Katsu? Furai? What’s the difference? Not much. The process of coating the main ingredient and the deep-frying that comes after are the same. Except there is no cutlet in furai.
Not a fan of crab meat? Try ebi furai.
