Who doesn’t love a good east coast crab cake while they daydream of salt water and boardwalks? I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. Eating vegan does not mean that we have to give up our favorite dishes from around the world. We simply see the change we want to make and pivot with it. There is this fear, especially when you travel, that you aren’t going to have the full experience of a place if you aren’t consuming exactly how the locals are. I believe that there are so many factors that go into giving you that authentic local feeling, and I can promise you… the lump crab meat can be substituted. But that Old Bay Spice while sitting on a patio as the salt water breeze hits your face? Thats what you can’t live without.
Preparing a Heart of Palm
Heart of palm is one of my staple cabinet ingredients. It is quite literally the heart of a palm tree. Plants… you wild. Heart of palm typically comes in a can and then you drain the brine out. You can find it at pretty much any grocery store, and it doesn’t require much effort to get your paws on. When preparing the heart of palm for crab cakes, you will want a food processor. Honestly, I use my food processor daily… if you don’t already have on- I promise it will be the best investment of your life. Use the chop setting and pulse the food processor about 10 times quickly. By pulse, I just mean that you are quickly tapping it. You will have some smaller shredded pieces, but also some larger chunks. That is the way I prefer it, because it gives the cakes some character.
Is Worcestershire Sauce Vegan?
Another very important ingredient of Maryland style crab cakes is a fun one that I will simply never be able to pronounce. Worcestershire sauce! You guys, are so lucky that I’m typing and not talking. Anyone that knows me knows that I can’t pronounce most words… which is a really fun game when you’re in the medical field. If you did not already know this, or you’re new to the vegan world… I am here to crush you soul with this one. Worcestershire sauce is in fact NOT vegan. Sound the alarms, you heard that right. There are actually anchovies in this sauce. Simple Truth makes a really good vegan version of this though and it will not be difficult to acquire.
What is a Flax Egg, anyway?
Another fun ingredient (just don’t put it in smoothies… learned that the hard way) is flaxseed or flax meal. This is going to be a common ingredient in any vegans pantry.
- It is used as a gelatinous substitute bind and hold ingredients together.
- If you ever hear a recipe call for a “flax egg” it is simply 1 part flax to 3 parts water. Let the flax and water mixture sit for 10-15 minutes and it will become this sticky gel like substance.
- Flaxseed is also a great protein substitute, so I like including it where I can in recipes.
The Perfect Dipping Sauce
What crab cake is complete without a Remoulade dipping sauce. I have found a few ways to make this sauce, but for this recipe we are going to go simple simple simple. A lot of those core ingredients in the crab cakes? We are going to use them as our sauce- mayo, dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and old bay. A benefit to this is that this entire recipe really does not call for many ingredients. Whenever I’m struggling to decide what I want to make for dinner, these are things I already have and I can quickly make this up.
East coast cooking is one of my favorite USA styles. If you are having fun with this one, check out my Baltimore Crab Dip. With the good weather upon us, I am so unbelievable happy to be basking in my new city of Chicago (yes, I moved! Who’s shocked?!). It’s time to bust out the spring and summer recipes. If anyone needs me, you can catch me spinning in circles on the lakefront convincing myself that I can write outside… *its the windy city the skylines echoes as it steals my scrap paper and floats it off into the abyss*
“Be around the light bringers, the magic makers, the world shifters, the game shakers.”
Danielle Doby
