Leave the cute little crabs where they belong & make these Thai Style Vegan Crab Cakes instead. Tender, moist, packed with flavour & subtly ‘fishy’, they are so like the real deal! And they are really easy to make!
THIS RECIPE IS SPONSORED BY REESE SPECIALITY FOODS
These are such a big deal in my life right now. I haven’t felt this way since my Baked Vegan Mac and Cheese. It’s the bomb and so are these Thai Style Vegan Crab Cakes.
I have been making them non-stop over the past couple of weeks. They are just perfect. Perfect flavour, perfect texture and they look mighty fine too, in all of their crispy, golden gloriousness! ????
These Thai Style Vegan Crab Cakes are incredible. They are golden, tender, moist, flaky and absolutely full of flavour thanks to a combo of Thai Red Curry Paste, green onions, lime, tamari and ginger. If you aren’t big on spicy food, don’t be put off because there isn’t much Thai red curry paste in them and they aren’t really spicy. Having said that if you do like spice feel free to add more!
WHAT GIVES THESE VEGAN CRAB CAKES THEIR SLIGHTLY FISHY TASTE?
The addition of nori sheets is what makes these Vegan Crab Cakes taste ‘of the sea’ and slightly fishy.
You know?… The stuff you use to roll sushi. You can pick it up in most stores now and it is perfect in this recipe.
In addition to nori, you are going to need a new ingredient. (I’m assuming it’s new to you because it was to me until I stumbled upon it quite recently!) That ingredient is Hearts of Palm. I used the Reese Speciality Foods brand in my Crab Cakes and they worked brilliantly.
Hearts of Palm are not to be confused with palm oil. They are a totally different species of palm tree and are grown in different parts of the world entirely. They are a really tasty, versatile and nutritious ingredient. Rich in potassium, cholesterol free and a great source of plant powered protein. The perfect addition to your vegan recipes!
You will find them in most grocery stores. They will be with the canned vegetables, usually pretty near the artichokes. Reese Speciality Foods have a handy store locator on their site so if you get stuck finding them give it a try.
You can buy hearts of palm in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Medallions, sliced, pieces, but the long tubular sticks are better for this particular recipe because you need to shred or grate them.
The cans look like this:
The shredded hearts of palm and some chopped canned artichoke hearts are what gives these vegan crab cakes their crab meaty texture. It really is so similar once it’s shredded up. In combination with the artichoke and the nori it is so hard to believe that there is no actual crab in these cakes!
Just look at that inside shot!
[clickToTweet tweet=”Leave the cute little crabs where they belong & make these Vegan Thai Style Crab Cakes instead! ” quote=”Leave the cute little crabs where they belong & make these Vegan Thai Style Crab Cakes instead! “]
HOW TO MAKE MY THAI STYLE VEGAN CRAB CAKES
These vegan crab cakes are so simple to make. The base ingredient and glue to hold them all together is mashed potato.
1 – Add the green onions, curry paste, tamari, lime zest, lime juice and ginger to a food processor
2- Break up some nori sheets and add them too
3 – Process until you have a slightly chunky paste
4- Grate or shred the Hearts Of Palm
5 – Chop the artichoke hearts
6 – Mix everything together with the mashed potato and a generous amount of seasoning
7 – Shape into patties
8 – Either pan fry or oven bake
These Thai Style Vegan Crab Cakes really don’t take long at all to make. With just a few easy steps they are done and ready to cook. They will keep in their uncooked state for 3 to 4 days in the fridge and for the same time once cooked so are perfect for making in advance. They also reheat really well once cooked. I haven’t tried it because we always eat them too quickly, but I think they would probably freeze well.
HOW TO SERVE VEGAN CRAB CAKES
As it’s summer we have been enjoying these yummy Vegan Crab Cakes with lots of fresh and crisp salad for dinner. They are particularly good with my Tomato Chickpea Salad with Cilantro & Lime. You could also serve them with home-made potato wedges, steamed new potatoes, polenta, grits, arugula, corn on the cob, potato salad, coleslaw or even in a bun as a veggie burger substitute. They would also be fab made into mini cakes and served with a sweet chili dipping sauce <double drool> either as an appetizer at a dinner party or as part of a buffet.
However you serve them they will be awesome. SO awesome that I am about to make them again for dinner tonight. Told ya we can’t get enough! ????
You also need to make them now, like right now.
Go!
The crabs and I will thank you..???? And you will thank me right after because they really are the bomb!
Share your pics with me on Instagram. I’d love to see. Use the hashtag #avirtualvegan so I don’t miss them! You can rate the recipe and leave a comment below too!
Thai Style Vegan Crab Cakes
Ingredients
- 600g / 4 cups diced or about 4 medium potatoes
- 7-8 individual / 1 bunch green onions
- 1 lime , zest & juice
- 1½ inch knob of fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon Tamari , or soy sauce
- 4 tablespoons Thai Red Curry Paste
- 4 sheets nori
- 1 x 398 gram can hearts of palm, drained , the long tubular shaped ones work best. (drained weight is about 200 g)
- 100g / ¾ cup canned artichoke hearts , drained
- pepper , to taste
- salt , to taste
- 2 tablespoons oil for pan frying , optional
Instructions
- Peel and cube the potatoes then add them to a pan. Cover with water and boil until fork tender and mashable but not too soft, then drain, mash and set aside.
- While the potatoes are boiling, add the green onions, lime juice, lime zest, ginger, tamari and curry paste to a food processor. Break the nori sheets up into manageable pieces and put them in the food processor with the other ingredients. Process until it is a paste. The nori tends to stay a little chunkier than everything else and that is ok.
- Drain the hearts of palm really, really well, and either grate them, or shred them with a fork, then drain the artichokes and roughly chop. Be sure to drain them throughly and give the artichokes a little squeeze to get any residual liquid out of them.
- Once the potatoes have cooled enough to handle, add the paste and stir through really well so it's evenly distributed then add the shredded hearts of palm and the chopped artichoke and stir through gently.
- Form into patties and place them on a tray with some baking parchment as you go. To cook you can either pan-fry them, oven bake or cook them on a griddle. They are best pan-fried as they develop a lovely golden crust.
To pan-fry
- Warm a couple tablespoons of oil in a pan over medium high heat. Once really hot add the crab cakes carefully. Leave them well alone for around 4 minutes to allow a thick, golden crust to develop then turn over and do the same on the other side. Remove from the pan and rest them on some kitchen paper to absorb excess oil. Your pan probably wont be big enough to cook them all at once so have the oven on low and pop the cooked ones in there to keep warm while you cook the rest.
To griddle
- Warm your griddle to a medium high heat. When hot carefully place the crab cakes on the griddle and cook for 4-5 minutes each side.
To oven bake
- Place on a tray on lightly greased baking parchment and bake at 400°F for around 25 minutes. Turn over half way through.
Notes
Estimated nutrition per serving:
This post is sponsored by Reese Specialty Foods. Thank you for continuing to support the brands who help make this site possible.
Long time vegan, creator of A Virtual Vegan & author of the book 
Kelly Thompson says
Hello,
I’d like to make vegan “crab” cakes, but I’m wondering if you could recommend a substitute for the Thai red curry paste? I just don’t care for the curry flavor and it sounds hot/spicy too. I’m from Maine and would like to “New England” these up, but I’m not sure what I should substitute for the 4 tablespoons of curry paste, as it seems like it helps to bind the mixture together. Vegan mayo seems like it may not be thick enough to bind and hold it together. I’d appreciate any help you could offer!
Melanie McDonald says
The mashed potato binds everything together pretty well on it’s own. I’d make them as they are minus the curry paste and maybe the ginger if that doesn’t work flavour-wise, and see how you go when it comes to shaping them. I think they will be fine, but if not, add a few tablespoons of vegan mayo as needed to help. Makes sure you add lots of other seasonings though to make up for the flavour the curry paste adds as otherwise they will end up quite bland. Hope that helps!
Kelly Thompson says
Thank you so much for your speedy reply! Good to know that the potato is basically the binder, so then I can add my New England flavors to this, and if needed a little vegan mayo! I’m excited to try these, as I host a once-a-month Saturday Night Supper Club at my gluten free and vegan bakeshop, and for the August menu, I wanted to include a seafood dish, with both vegan and non-vegan options, and this fits the bill beautifully! I’ll let you know how they turn out! Thanks again, Kelly
Dhara says
Hi there! I love the look of this recipe, thanks for posting!! Just a quick question, is 200g the net weight of hearts of palm that you use or that’s the weight of the can? Thanks!
Melanie McDonald says
200g is the approx weight of the hearts of palm when removed from the can and drained. They come in a can that weighs about 398g. I will make it clearer in the recipe. It is a bit vague!
Henry Rowbottom says
Just made them for dinner. Such great flavors and textures. Such a unique recipe. We loved it!
Charlotte says
So yummy. In fact made them twice last week!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Charlotte. I’m so pleased you enjoyed them and thank you for taking the time to leave feedback. It’s much appreciated!
Sarah says
I followed this recipe exactly and they disintegrated in the pan! Pure mush and inedible. Not to mention, nothing like crab cakes. I’ll stick to my chickpea “tuna” patties.
Shelly says
What brand of Red Curry paste do you use?
A Virtual Vegan says
I tend to use the Thai Kitchen one as it’s the only one easily available in the stores here. It’s great in these crab cakes.