Barney Desmazery takes these simple crab cakes, seasoned with Thai spices and served with sweet chilli sauce, from the Soho club and into your dinner-party repertoire – best of all, they won’t take long in the kitchen
Prep:15 mins
4 as a starter
200g mixed crabmeat100g fresh breadcrumbs, plus extra if needed2 tbsp mayonnaise1 tbsp Thai red curry pastesmall pack coriander, roughly chopped, plus a few leaves to serve1 lime, zested, 1/2 juicedbunch spring onions, half sliced, half shredded3 tbsp sunflower oil1 carrot, finely shredded, to servesweet chilli sauce, to serve
STEP 1To make the crab cakes, tip the crabmeat, breadcrumbs, mayonnaise, curry paste, coriander, lime zest, juice and sliced spring onions into a bowl. Mix together until well combined – the mixture should be spoonable and not sloppy – this will depend on the ratio of brown crabmeat you use. If it’s too wet, add some more breadcrumbs to make it the right consistency.STEP 2Heat the oil in a frying pan. Divide the mixture into 4, shape into patties, then fry for 3 mins on each side until golden and crisp. If you are serving these as a canapé (which we did at the Groucho Club), you can simply fry tablespoons of the mixture to make mini cakes.STEP 3Scatter some carrot, the shredded spring onion and coriander leaves over the plate and serve the crab cakes on top with a pot of sweet chilli sauce on the side.
