Crab salad cake creation

Hi everyone! I have been searching for a new idea for my next post, a dish that can be played around and experimented with. I just didn't have any idea until I came across this picture below:

Crab and Avocado Salad

This picture is from my culinary textbook Garde Manger, Arts and Craft of the Cold Kitchen by the Culinary Insititute of America. What struck me about this picture is the presentation. I thought that this is an interesting way to present a salad. I thought I could probably do something along these lines. I did a main course in my previous post. This one would be an appetiser.

Below is what I have come up with and I name it

Crab Salad Cake Duo

The original intention was for me to showcase a fusion of western and eastern ingredients used in the salad but keeping the idea of it being a cold appetiser.

I used a mango mayonnaise dressing for the western crab salad as I found out that many seafood salads and crab salads as well as lobster salads love to make use of fruits to give it a sweet flavour. Within, I added tomato cubes as well as garlic, dill weed and garnished it with grated egg, fried tomato skin and cucumber slices.

The second crab cake, I thought of doing something asian with it. Therefore I used our very own Local Chilli Crab sauce as the base dressing for the salad. I added a little mayonnaise to make the dressing, threw in some garlic, shallots and parsley. I garnished it with some deep fried oats and a deep fried curry leaf garnish.

Using a ring mold, I molded the crab salad into cake shapes and displayed them as above. Then I added croutons as part of the salad. I love croutons. My only regret was not having any cabbage on hand to place at the base. It would have made for a most interesting display.

Note: I used Surimi Frozen Crab Meat for this. It is shredded crab stick and is certainly cost effective and yet tasty. However, if you can get frozen authentic crab meat or freshly cooked crab meat for this...or even lobster! Now that would be amazing.

I would also advise chilling thoroughly for about 5 - 6 hours for the best possible flavour and mouthfeel. This allows the flavours to set and seep in as well as keeping it chilled. I sampled it just after I made it - at room temperature and again much later at night after chilling. The latter tasted far better.

Here are some websites I referred to for help and guide:

http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1843,152179-255195,00.html

http://www.finedinings.com/fresh_crab_with_mango_this_is_.htm


Mango Crab Cake Ingredients:

1 tsp Mayonnaise

3 tsp mango puree

1 tbsp of small diced tomatoes

Scattering of dill weed

2-3 tbsp crab meat

1/2 tsp of garlic (chopped)

1 tsp grated egg

Preparation method: Mix everything well together, leaving the egg for garnish on top. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Asian style crab cake ingredients:

3 tsp chili crab sauce (extra thick)

1 tsp mayonnaise

2-3 tbsp crab meat

A scattering of parsley

1/2 tsp garlic (chopped)

1/2 tsp shallots (minced)

Preparation method: Mix everything well together and chill. Adjust seasoning according to taste.

Crab chili sauce ingredients:

1 tsp chili sauce

8 tsp tomato ketchup

Pinch of salt

Pinch of sugar

2 tsp vinegar

1 tsp sesame oil

50 ml water

1/4 beaten egg

Preparation method: Stir everything together and let it boil. Thicken with cornstarch (dissolved in a little water) if necessary.