My old self had a really difficult time typing the title for this post. My new self, however, is loving it! Let me give you a little background on my relationship with seafood:
My relationship with seafood has been pretty nonexistent for most of my life. As a vegetarian, I do not eat seafood, but even before I adapted this lifestyle, I was far from being a lover of food that came from the sea. On occasion, I would eat canned tuna with noodles or fish sticks (does that even count?), but other than that, fish was a major no-go for me. I did not like the taste of it, and the idea of eating a fish actually grossed me out (and still does!). But just because I don’t like the “real deal” does not mean that I do not like vegan versions of seafood. In fact, I have grown quite fond of them! Two years ago, if you would have told me that I would be craving, making, eating, loving, and blogging about vegan “seafood” made with tofu, I would have said you were nuts. But things have changed…and for the better! 🙂
Vegan “Crab” Cakes
Servings: 2 (makes about 14 small cakes)
Adapted from this recipe, this recipe, and this recipe!
Ingredients
olive oil cooking spray
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 yellow onion, roughly chopped
1/2 bunch green onions, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 block extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed
2 sheets roasted seaweed, crumpled (I used Trader Joe’s)
1/2 TB Old Bay Seasoning
1/8 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp cornstarch
fine sea salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup plain unsweetened almond milk
~1 cup panko bread crumbs
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a large baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray.
2. In a small food processor, pulse garlic, onion, green onions, and carrots. If you do not have a food processor, simply dice the ingredients as small as possible. Remove the vegetables from the food processor and put them into a medium bowl.
3. Add the tofu and seaweed to the food processor and pulse until crumbled into small pieces.
4. Add the tofu mixture to the vegetables, and stir in seasonings and lemon juice. Place the “crab” cake mixture into the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to firm up a bit.
5. Pour the milk and bread crumbs into two separate bowls. Form small patties out of the “crab” cake mixture. Dip each patty into the milk and then cover all sides with the bread crumbs. Place each patty onto the baking sheet.
6. Bake the “crab” cakes for approximately 18 minutes, flip, and bake an additional 15 minutes, or until the bread crumbs become golden brown and crispy.
If desired, serve your “crab” cakes with tartar sauce, or your other favorite condiment. I ate mine by themselves because the seasonings were rich enough that I did not feel like they needed anything extra.
Serve your Vegan “Crab” Cakes alongside your favorite side dish. Like I said, I have never been a huge seafood eater, so I am not really certain as to what sides go best with seafood. So, I just played it safe and went with my current obsession: roasted kabocha squash!
These babies may be small, but the taste is far from that! The Old Bay seasoning made the tofu take on the flavors of seafood (I seriously never would have guessed that these were made with tofu if I had not been the one making them), and the crispy and crunchy texture of the bread crumb coating was delicious. I may not like actual crab cakes, but I sure do LOVE this vegan version! These are definitely going on my “must make again” list!
Lastly, I just have to tell you that I have finally gotten with it and made myself a Twitter account for the blog! So…follow me at ClnEatingVegGrl :)!
