True confession time: as a Baltimore resident for five years, my husband and I ate many delicious jumbo lump crab cakes. So, I was intrigued to see a new product labeled Vegan Crab Cake by Sophie’s Kitchen. The good news is that it is gluten free, soy free, and 100% vegan. At 120 calories, with 170 mg. of sodium, it is fairly low in calories and sodium. The package indicates that it is made with konjac root (also known as konjaku and elephant yam) which is a popular ingredient in Japan and Southeast Asia. When I found them at my local Earth Fare, I was pretty excited at the prospect of a plant-based alternative to crabmeat. Since the package claims that you can make them several ways, I tried baking them in the oven and serving them over a big green salad. Unfortunately, Bill and I just didn’t think that they had the taste or texture of the crab cakes we so fondly remember from Baltimore. Our preliminary verdict was that the vegan crab cakes, baked in the oven, would not fool a carnivore.
However, the jury is still out: we will definitely try them again, and will pan fry them next time to see if that gives them a better texture. Sophie’s Kitchen makes a lot of other vegan seafood products, so we will definitely try their vegan shrimp, fish, calamari, and scallops. If you’ve had experience with any of these products or any other vegan seafood, please post a reply. I’d love to find some meatless products that would fool carnivores who love seafood!
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