Lemongrass Crab Cakes

Sometime last year, my husband planted an herb garden around our mailbox. Among the herbs, we started two stalks of lemongrass. A year and a half later, the stalks have multiplied several times over, and now the garden is teeming with lemongrass. They are easy to care for - give the stalks a haircut every so often, and clear out the dead layers on the bottom.

If you're not familiar with how to prepare lemongrass, here's a quick tutorial. They work a little like leeks - you hack off the leafy part, and peel the outer layers of the stalk. There's usually a purple ring around the inner stalk, and I peel almost down to that. Then you slice thinly, and chop finely.

Lemongrass works really well in crab cakes; instead of squirting some lemon on the them, the citrus flavor is incorporated into the cakes. I've heard that you can also dry the leafy tops of the lemongrass and brew them for tea. In fact, a worker who cut down our dead tree took some of the leaves for just that purpose.

Lemongrass Crab Cakes
adapted from Cooking Light
July 2002

2 slices of white bread
¼ c finely chopped green onion
2 Tbs chopped cilantro
2 tsp chopped peeled lemongrass
1 Tbs rice vinegar
2 tsp fresh lime zest
½ tsp sriracha
1e egg, slightly beaten
1 lb lump crabmeat, drained
2 Tbs vegetable oil


Pulse bread in a food processor until crumbled coarsely. You should have about 1 cup of crumbs. Mix crumbs, green onion, cilantro, lemongrass, rice vinegar, lime zest, sriracha, egg, and crabmeat in a large bowl. Shape into six even patties. Place on a plate (if stacking on each other, use a sheet of wax paper between layers), cover, and chill for 1 hour.

Heat 1 Tbs oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the crab cakes and cook until browned, about 4 minutes. Flip crab cakes carefully and brown on the other side. Remove crab cakes to a plate, and repeat procedure with remaining oil and crab cakes.