Recipe: Thai Style Crab Pancakes

Eating at Providence is always a treat, but so is cooking something outside of your usual repertoire. These fancy pancakes are thin and crispy, held together by the crab meat. Chef Michael Cimarusti suggests serving it with a salad of shredded carrots, bean sprouts, mint leaves, and shredded Napa cabbage with a spicy lime vinaigrette. Divide the batter into smaller portions if you're serving it as an appetizer, or make the pancakes bigger if you're eating it as a main. Enjoy!

Thai Style Crab Pancakes

4 tablespoons flour
1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
½ cup ice water
2 whole eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
½ stalk lemongrass, finely minced
1 tablespoon ginger, finely minced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
½ jalapeno, finely minced
1 cup cured pork belly
½ tablespoon cilantro, chopped
4 whole green onions, finely sliced
1 pound freshly cooked Dungeness or blue crab meat
¼ cup vegetable oil, for frying

Mix the flour, cornstarch, water, eggs, salt, and pepper. This result should be the consistency of pancake batter.   

Mix in the chopped lemongrass, ginger, garlic, and jalapeno. Steep the mixture for 10 minutes, then strain the batter. Add the chopped pork, cilantro, and green onions to the batter. 

Heat oil in a pan until very hot and pour batter into oil.  Add crab on top of batter. Cook for two minutes or until golden brown. Flip and cook the pancake for approximately one minute. Serve and garnish with salad.