Green Curry Crab Cakes

Ingredients

• 500 grams (18 ounces) crab meat
• 16 grams lemongrass, roughly chopped (1 stalk white part only)
• 16 grams galangal, roughly chopped (1/4" thick piece)
• 8 grams garlic (1 large clove)
• 4 kaffir lime leaves
• 1-2 thai bird chilies (to taste)
• 200 grams (7 ounces) shrimp
• 1/3 cup coconut milk
• 2/3 cup panko, for filling
• 1/4 cup fried shallots
• 1 cup panko, for coating
• oil for frying
• lemon or lime for serving

Instructions

1. 1
   Put the crab in a medium-sized bowl and pick through it to make sure there are no bits of shell or cartilage hanging out. Be careful not to break up the chunks of crab too much.
2. 2
   Put the lemongrass, galangal, garlic, lime leaves and chili peppers into a small food processor and process until finely ground.
3. 3
   Add the shrimp and coconut milk to the herbs and process until it forms a smooth paste.
4. 4
   Dump the shrimp mixture in with the crab, and add 2/3 cup panko, and the fried shallots. Gently mix this together until combined, being careful not to break up the chunks of crab.
5. 5
   If the mixture feels too loose to shape, place it in the fridge for half an hour. Otherwise, make 10 balls with the mixture and flatten them to form 3/4" thick pucks.
6. 6
   Put the remaining panko in a bowl and coat both sides of the crab cakes.
7. 7
   You can refrigerate these for up to a day until you're ready to fry them.
8. 8
   To fry, add about 2 tablespoons of oil to a heavy bottomed pan and heat over medium heat until the oil shimmers.
9. 9
   Add some of the crab cakes to the pan (don't overcrowd your pan) and fry undisturbed until you can see the edges start to turn golden brown. If they are browning too fast, turn the heat down.
10. 10
    Carefully flip them over using a spatula and tongs then fry until the crab cake is cooked through (an instant-read thermometer should read 140 degrees F in the center).
11. 11
    Serve with lemon or lime wedges.