Asian Crab Cakes and Wholewheat Noodle Salad

Serves 2

For some reason I always put crab cakes in the too-tricky-to-make-at-home category. I adored them in restaurants but shied away from attempting them myself. Until last year when I made it my mission to make a healthy version and the results were delicious! *did a little silent victory dance around kitchen*

This high protein, high fibre meal satisfies my love of Asian food, as well as providing a hefty 60% of my recommended daily Vitamin C intake. The ginger and turmeric have potent anti-inflammatory properties and the red, green and white cabbages are cruciferous vegetables high in antioxidants. Pumpkin & sesame seeds are an excellent source of dietary fibre and mono-unsaturated fatty acids, which are good for heart health. In addition, the seeds are concentrated sources of protein, minerals and health-benefiting vitamins.

This can be made into a salad as per the recipe below, or very easily adapted to a hot dinner, if you stir fry the cabbage and add the noodles hot.

INGREDIENTS

For the Crab Cakes

· 250g White Crab Meat
· 1 Egg
· 1 tsp Grated Fresh Turmeric or Powder
· ½ Onion
· 2 tsp Tamari
· 1 tsp Rice Vinegar
· 1 tsp Sesame Oil
· 4 tsp Buckwheat Flour (or any flour/panko breadcrumbs can be used to bind)
· 1 tsp Chia Seeds
· 1 tsp Ground Flaxseeds
· Juice from ½ Lemon
· 1 tsp Grated Ginger
· 2 tsp Rapeseed Oil for frying
· Pepper to taste

For the Salad

· 50 g White Cabbage
· 50 g Red Cabbage
· 50g Green Cabbage
· 50 g (Nest) Wholewheat Noodles — or brown rice noodles if gluten free
· 1 tbsp Black Sesame seeds
· 1 tbsp Pumpkin Seeds

For the Asian Dressing

Makes about 3 cups — I batch make this as I use it all the time (also good for Asian-inspired fish marinades or cauliflower rice) but just adjust quantities to make less if needed.

· 1 tbsp Grated Ginger
· 0.75 cup Sesame Oil
· 2 clove Garlic — minced
· 0.5 cup Rice Vinegar
· 0.25 cup Tamari
· 0.25 cup Mirin
· 1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
· Juice from 0.5 Lemon
· Pepper to taste

METHOD

For the crab cakes

· Very finely dice the onion.
· Grate the turmeric and ginger.
· Place all of the ingredients (apart from the oil) in one medium bowl and combine well.
· Cover and put in the fridge while preparing the salad and dressing.

For the dressing

· Grate the ginger and mince the garlic.
· Put all of the ingredients in an airtight glass jar and shake well.
· Keep in a cool dark place for a month.

For the Salad

· Place the wholewheat noodles in boiling water and cook as per the instructions (approximately 5 minutes depending on the brand).
· Drain and immediately plunge into cold water. Drain again.
· Chop the cabbages and combine with the noodles.
· Toss with 1 tbsp dressing and the pumpkins and sesame seeds.

For the crab cakes

· Heat the oil in a large frying pan and carefully spoon the crab mixture into burger shapes. On a medium heat, fry on each side until golden brown (approx 5 minutes on each side), but be careful when flipping, as they can sometimes be tricky to keep together.
· Once cooked, place on top of the salad and serve immediately.

Nutritional Information

Calories — 457
Carbohydrates — 55g
Fat — 12g
Protein — 34g
Fibre — 7g