Crab Cake Banh Mi Recipe

Crab cakes should be about crab but often times, it’s about filler ingredients and pungent ingredients like chopped bell pepper, which add color and texture but its flavor overwhelms. For those reasons, I rarely order crab cakes at restaurants. When I have, the crab flavor was meh due to the frozen or canned crab used. I’d been so traumatized by bad crab cakes that I have never made them. I use crab for noodles, fried rice, cha gio rice paper rolls, fried wontons. But experimenting with making this crab cake banh mi recipe changed my mind.

Making Crab Cakes about the Crab

I pick my own Dungeness crab but you will be fine if you use high quality jumbo lump crab meat. I typically buy the tubs in the refrigerated section at supermarkets and Costco. However, picking your own crab means you can have some crab butter to lend a briny undercurrent to the crab cakes. 

Canned crab is unfortunately tasteless. It’s barely crabby and will make your crab cake experience crabby too! Crab cakes are a splurge, a luxury food so treat yourself well. Use the good stuff.

Bread for Binding Crab Cakes

To be resourceful, I used the bread innards to bind the crab cake mixture. The light rolls that are perfect for banh mi have cottony insides that are splendid for holding the crab cake mixture together. That texture absorbs flavors well to melt into the crab so it’s all seamless. 

For this recipe, I got bolillo rolls at a Safeway supermarket, from the bakery department's bulk bin. I scooped/scraped out the insides of two rolls and then put the rolls into a zip-top bag overnight, till I was ready to make the banh mi the next day. They will hold!

You can add more bread to the crab mixture, but honestly, you don't want to make a firm texture at the beginning because it will cook up to be super-firm and rubbery, which defeats the richness of crab. Instead, this mixture will at first appear soft. After placing it on the baking sheet, I used the back of the spoon to flatten and neaten it.

As for coating, I tried panko (very beautiful and crisp) and two kinds of flours (rice for slight crunch, and all-purpose flour since it’s readily available). I like panko best, but if you’re gluten-free (make the sandwich with GF bread), or just want to use regular flour, that’ll work too.

Chilled Cakes are Best

Refrigerating the crab cakes allows flavors to meld and for the cakes to firm up. Don’t rush it. You can chill the cakes for up to 24 hours. That’s great for make-ahead banh mi. 

But even with chilling, the cakes are delicate, so handle them with care. Use a turner-style spatula to transfer them from one place to another. Once coated well (or you feel confident), you can hold a cake in your hand to dredge and place in the skillet.

Quick Pan-Frying 

Then it’s just a simple pan-frying in a hot skillet. It’s easy and fast. You can control the temperature to prevent burning. A well-seasoned nonstick skillet is perfect. I used my trusty carbon steel Mauviel pan.

You don’t need a ton of crab meat to prepare four cakes, which will make two very satisfying banh mi sandwiches. You could make four small sandwiches, too. But since it’s Valentine’s Day weekend, make two big sandwiches for you and your honey. Add a bottle of champagne and celebrate your togetherness. 

Related posts

• Fried Crab and Cream Cheese Wontons (hoanh thanh chien)
• How to pick crab (a step-by-step guide)
• Umami mayonnaise recipe
• Banh Mi Bread Buying Tips (because I don't always make my own!)
• A look inside my 2014 cookbook, The Banh Mi Handbook

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Crab Cake Banh Mi

A recipe for the ubiquitous daikon and carrot pickle (do chua) is in many of my cookbooks, and on this site.

Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 2 bolillo rolls or petite baguettes
• 1 ½ tablespoons finely chopped green onion, green and white parts
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro sprigs
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon crab fat (tomalley), optional l
• ½ to 1 teaspoon fish sauce (use more if not using crab fat)
• 6 ounces crabmeat, freshly picked or purchased jumbo lump
• Fine sea salt, as needed
• 1 large egg
• ½ cup panko or ⅓ cup flour (regular all-purpose or rice, such as Bob’s Red Mill)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons neutral oil

Sandwich fixings

• Rolls from above
• 2 to 3 tablespoons mayonnaise (full-fat highly encouraged)
• Maggi Seasoning Sauce or Bragg Liquid Aminos
• ¼ to ⅓ cup drained Pickled Daikon and Carrot
• 6 to 8 Jalapeno slices
• 6 to 8 Cucumber slices
• ¼ cup coarsely chopped cilantro sprigs

Instructions

• Use a bread knife to cut the bread in half lengthwise, leaving a hinge on one side. Use your fingers to remove the insides. Rub and crumble the bread into a bowl to make sure they are in small, crumbly bits. Aim for ½ cup (16 to 20 g) of fresh bread crumbs.
• Add the cilantro, pepper, crab fat, fish sauce, and crab. Gently stir and fold to combine. Taste and add pinches of salt, if you like. Break the egg into the mixture. Poke the yolk then stir and fold into the mixture. Expect the crab to fall apart. Divide the crab cake mixture into 4 portions then shape them into ½ to ¾ inch thick cakes, each about 3 inches wide. Place on a wax or parchment paper-lined plate or baking dish. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 24 hours. The longer the better to get the cakes to firm up.
• Put half of the panko (or flour) on a plate. Use a turner-style spatula to transfer each chilled crab cake onto the panko. Sprinkle the remaining panko (or flour) on top. Pat the coating onto each crab cake.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When shimmering, pick up each crab cake, dredging it in extra coating, as needed, then gently place in the skillet. Increase the heat slightly, then pan-fry for 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until crispy and browned. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for a few minutes then assemble your sandwich.
• Heat the rolls in a 350F toaster oven, let cool, then spread mayonnaise on the inside. Drizzle in the Maggi, add the crab cakes, pickle, chile, cucumber and cilantro. Close and cut in half if you like. Then eat up.

Notes

To crisp and refresh, mist the rolls or light rub them with water before heating in the toaster oven.