Crispy on the outside and melt-in-your-mouth on the inside, these crab croquettes feature sweet crab meat covered in a crunchy Panko coating.
With Dungeness crab season in full swing, I’ve been making a lot of crab dishes. One of the most memorable dishes I had in Japan was crab croquettes, a popular izakaya item. I didn’t even like croquettes until we had them in Japan, from regular potato, curry, beef, to crab, and uni. Even the ones from 7-Eleven tasted phenomenal. I adapted the recipe for crab croquettes from chef Tim Anderson’s cookbook, Japan Easy. The filling was creamy with sweet crab meat covered by a crunchy Panko coating. I served the crab croquettes with tonkatsu sauce but Japanese mayo and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice would taste just as good.
Ingredient Note
- Crab: I used Dungeness crab for the croquettes. Both frozen snow crab and imitation crab are alternatives. You could use a mixture of real crab and imitation crab.
- Panko crumbs: this ingredient is essential to getting a crunchy, yet light coating. Panko is lighter and more flaky compared to regular breadcrumbs. Restaurants in Japan use fresh panko. To make your own fresh panko, buy a loaf of shokupan, trim off the crusts, let it go stale for one day, then use the grading disc of a food processor to turn it into fluffy breadcrumbs.
How to Make Croquettes
- Make the bechamel. Melt butter in a small pan over a medium heat and saute the shallot until soft but not golden. Add in flour. Gradually whisk in the milk, a little at a time. Add heavy cream and creme fraiche. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in crab meat. Cook the crab mixture until it thickens. Remove from heat and cool for 1 hour. Refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
- Shape the crab croquettes. Divide the crab mixture into 12 portions. Form them into oblong shape about 2x1 inches. Dredge in flour, egg, then panko. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to firm up.
- Fry until golden. Bring a large pot of oil to 350 degrees F over medium-high heat. Fry the crab croquettes until golden brown, about 2 minutes on both sides.
Make Ahead and Storage
The crab croquettes could be made and formed 2 days ahead. They can frozen for up to 3 months. Fry them directly out of the freezer at 325 degrees F but fry for an additional 2-3 minutes.
What to Serve Croquettes With
I like to serve the crab croquettes with tonkatsu sauce or Japanese mayo and a squeeze of lemon juice.
For more Japanese recipe inspiration:
Japanese Crab Croquettes
Ingredients
- 2 ounces unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup shallot, finely diced
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons creme fraiche
- 8 ounces Dungeness crab meat
Coating
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 cups Panko breadcrumbs
For Serving
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
- ½ cup tonkatsu sauce
- ½ cup Kewpie mayo
Instructions
- Heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat and saute shallot until soft and fragrant, about 2 minutes
- Whisk in flour and cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently until the roux becomes amber and aromatic, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the milk in a slow, steady stream while whisking constantly to prevent any lumps from forming. Add the heavy cream, creme fraiche, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Add in the crab meat. Season to taste. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer gently for 8-10 minutes or until thickened, stirring frequently.
- Transfer the crab bechamel to a shallow tray and leave to cool for 1 hour. Cover tightly with cling film and keep in the fridge for at least 1 hour. When the crab bechamel is cold, it will solidify into a thick paste.
- Divide the mixture into 12 portions. Oil your hands and roll the crab paste into 2x1 inch oblong croquettes.
- Prepare three bowls: one with remaining flour, one with eggs, and one with Panko breadcrumbs.
- Coat each croquette in flour, egg, then breadcrumbs. Pat carefully to ensure they are well covered. Place croquettes on a tray lined with parchment paper and put it back in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm up before frying.
- Heat oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium heat until 350°F. Fry croquettes, turning, for 2 minutes on each side or until golden and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon to paper towel to drain.
- Transfer croquettes to serving plates and enjoy with tonkatsu sauce or mayo and lemon wedges.
Prati
Delicious! I used frozen snow crab. Will try the fake crab next time.