By Request

BETTY SHIMABUKURO

Wednesday, July 4, 2001

HECO
Crab cakes served at OnJin Cafe are
flavored with a tomato sauce.

---

Mother and daughter
share earnest craving
for crabcakes

The crab cake is one of those flexible dishes that can be bent and shaped flavorwise to reflect the style of the chef. It lends itself well to Asian styles of preparation, and crab cakes show up locally on Thai, Japanese and Pacific Rim menus.

Robynn Yim and her mother are on the prowl for some examples, her mother, she says, being especially partial to the Takana Crab Cakes served at L'Uraku.

It is a fortuitous time for Yim's request, as crab cakes are being featured on the Hawaiian Electric Co. cooking show, "The Electric Kitchen" in the first half of July. OnJin Kim, chef/owner of OnJin Cafe, is the guest chef, preparing several dishes, including her vegetable-packed crab cakes.

Recipes from the show are printed weekly in this section -- you'll find more at left (plus show times). Consider this a bonus, for a crab-cake-loving mother-daughter team.

Chef Hiroshi Fukui of L'Uraku also shares his crab cake recipe here, although it could be difficult to reproduce exactly at home. A key ingredient is takana chazuke, a Japanese salted, seasoned mustard cabbage, which the chef buys from Japan. Local Japanese markets such as Marukai and Daiei, sell types of takana that are similar, under the names Takana Abura Itame or Takana Kasu. Fukui says the texture will match and the recipe will work, but the taste will be slightly different. Do NOT substitute the Chinese version of sour mustard cabbage or the locally produced sanbai-style pickled cabbage.

L'Uraku Takana Crab Cakes

1 cup diced onion
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2-1/2 pounds snow crab meat (squeeze out all liquid)
4 ounces (3/4 cup) takana
3 eggs
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons fish sauce (nam pla)
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Vegetable oil for deep frying
>> Breading:
3 ounces (3-1/2 cups) corn flakes
3 ounces (3/4 cup) panko

Sauté onion in oil; cool.

Combine onion with remaining ingredients and form into 1-1/2 ounce patties. Combine breading ingredients; coat each cake in breading.

Heat oil to 350 degrees. Deep-fry crab cakes until lightly brown. Makes 40 crab cakes.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 125 calories, 9 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 40 mg cholesterol, greater than 300 mg sodium, 4 g carbohydrate, 6.4 g protein.*

OnJin Cafe Crab Cakes

1/2 medium onion, grated
1 small carrot, minced
1 stalk celery, minced
1/2 red bell pepper, minced
Kernels from 1 cob of fresh corn
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 pound crab meat, well drained
1 egg
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Dash of hot pepper sauce
1 teaspoon bay seasoning
2 cups flour
3 eggs, beaten
3 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place vegetables and herbs in a fine strainer and drain well; squeeze to remove excess liquid. Combine vegetables with crab, the 1 egg, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, and bay seasoning; mix lightly.

Form into 12 balls. Dredge balls in flour, dip into beaten eggs and coat with panko. Lightly press each ball into a 3/4-inch thick cake.

In a skillet, heat olive oil and butter; lightly brown cakes. Place in oven and bake 8 minutes or until heated. Serve with Tomato Sauce (below). Makes 12 crab cakes.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 330 calories, 10 g total fat, 2.5 g saturated fat, 100 mg cholesterol, 480 mg sodium, 42 g carbohydrate, 17 g protein.*

Tomato Sauce for Crab Cakes

4 tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 pieces sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
1/4 cup butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Cut the 4 tomatoes into halves; remove seeds and roast in oven for 4 hours. Remove skins.

In a skillet, heat olive oil; sauté diced plum tomatoes. Add chicken broth and simmer until liquid is reduced by two-thirds. Cool slightly.

Blend with roasted and sun-dried tomatoes to a sauce consistency. Strain into a bowl. Add butter and whip; season with salt and pepper. Serve over Crab Cakes.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving (not including salt to taste): 60 calories, 5 g total fat, 2.5 g saturated fat, 15 mg cholesterol, 50 mg sodium, 3 g carbohydrate, 1 g protein.*

Food Stuffs: Morsels

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
"By Request," Honolulu Star-Bulletin,
500 Ala Moana, No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.