# Imitation crab meal idea



## debbie24

i have some imitation crab that i would like to use up.  hubby is not a salad person so thats kind of out.  i was thinking pasta.  any suggestions?  i'm new to cooking so any help will be appreciated.  i saw a few recipes for alfredo but i dont have any cream cheese in the house right now or parmesan cheese.  so sorry if this is a tough one.  thanks


----------



## Andy M.

You can make a cream sauce that isn't alfredo.  All you need is some cream and some hard cheese.  

Saute some garlic in butter, add heavy cream and reduce to thicken.  Turn off the heat and stir in the cheese.  Add in the surimi (fake crab) and toss with pasta.


----------



## Shunka

Add in some peas, chopped onions, chopped bell pepper to Andy's directions and you can make it go farther.


----------



## debbie24

thanks.  i have sharp cheddar & pepper jack but no heavy cream .


----------



## mugsy27

toss it in some cream of celery soup (if condensed mix with milk or cream instead of water) and add some salt/pepper and old bay...instant cream of crab soup!!


----------



## Constance

If you don't have any cream on hand, you can make a white sauce that will taste just as rich and good. In a large skillet, sweat your garlic in two tbls of butter, stir in 2 tbls flour, then whisk in 2 cups of milk and cook on medium heating, stirring, until sauce is thickened. You can add cheese to the sauce or not. Season the sauce to taste...I like to use a little Old Bay Seasoning, but you could stick with the classic grating of nutmeg if you like. Stir in your crab, and maybe some pimentoes and a few frozen peas. Then add your cooked noodles. Turn into pasta bowl and sprinkle with cheese of your choice.
I do it this way all the time, and we actually prefer it, because it's not so heavy as a real Alfredo.


----------



## BreezyCooking

I use it in pasta all the time - in fact, it's one of my husband's favorite pasta dishes.

Just cook whatever type of pasta you want - short or long types - drain, & toss the imitation crab (aka surimi) pieces in with the hot pasta.  I sometimes saute it a little first in some extra-virgin olive oil, & usually add a green vegetable as well - most frequently broccoli or broccolini.

Imitation crab also makes a lovely addition to Asian stirfries - especially when combined with broccoli, bok choy, & snow peas, tossed with some soy, dry sherry, crushed red pepper flakes, & oyster sauce, & served over rice.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

If you have clam juice in the house, use it along with the milk from Constance's recipe to add a wonderfully complimentary flavor to the fake crab.

In fact, that basic sauce recipe is called a Bechemel and is one of the mother sauces (also called a grand sauce).  This is used to make a host of small or derivitive sauces.

The basic recipe is equal amounts of fat and flour, and either milk or cream to thin, with a bit of salt to flavor.  Just melt butter or heat oil in a pot.  Note how much you use.  add the same amount of measured flour, plus a bit of salt and stir into a thick paste.  This is called a roux.

Let cook while stirring for about a minute over medium heat.  Do'nt brown it.  That's the basis for a different kind of sauce and will taste substantialy different.  Add milk slowly while stirring until the roux thins into a rich sauce.  From this point you can add parmesan cheese to make an Alfredo, or Add whipped egg-whites and spinace to make bake into a spinach soufle, or add some gruyere cheese and egg yolks to make a Hollaindaise, or add...

You get the idea.

If you thin the roux with animal broth, such as beef, veal, pork, chicken, or seafood, it is another of the mother suaces called a veloute.  This is used for making various gravies, which is what you would want for your fake crab.  You can then use it as is for a gravy or sauce to spoon over pasta or rice, or you can transform it into various soups and chowders, a bisque, or stew.

I know, I'm giving you a lot to swallow without much in the way of recipes.  But that simple roux of flour and fat can be used to amke so much, even to thicken legume soups such as bean or split pea.  Just thin the roux with liquid from the soup until a thick sauce is formed, and then stir into the soup to suspend the solid particles and keep them from settling.  This is called binding the soup.

I use roux for so many things.  It's even part of the ingredient list for cream puffs, i.e. butter, flour, heated to make the roux, then milk to begin the dough, followed by eggs, stirred into the paste.  Then you have choux paste for making puffs, eclairs, protiferoles, etc.

Flour and fat, a wonderful thing 

Seeeeya; Goodweed of the North


----------



## Gretchen

It makes a good pasta salad using shells and a light mayo dressing. Veggies, of course.


----------



## CharlieD

I know you said no salad, but this is really not a salad even though I call it that, it’s a whole meal if you ask me.

Salad:

1 potato
2 carrots
2 hard boiled eggs
½ cup canned sweet pees
1 cup imitation crab.
1-2 table spoon mayo
Salt to taste.
1 small to medium Granny Smith apple or
1 cucumber or 
1 pickle.

( Last 3 items I do not use, but my mom interchangeably uses them, depending on her mood )

Boil potato in skin, carrots (I peel them before), eggs. Let it cool down so you can work with them. Peel potato and eggs. I like to dice all the items very small. Mix together; add salt and mayo mix it. Yum.


----------



## Bangbang

Just substitute chunks of Imitation Crap for the shrimp in this recipe from Cooks.com.........Its great.




SHRIMP SCAMPI


----------



## debbie24

thank you all so much, so many choices.  i cant decide now. LOL.  

charlieD am i going to be imitation crab? 

Bangbang what is salad oil and can serve this mixed with speaghetti?  i'm thinking that would be good.

baby screaming, be back soon


----------



## Bangbang

debbie24 said:
			
		

> thank you all so much, so many choices. i cant decide now. LOL.
> 
> charlieD am i going to be imitation crab?
> 
> Bangbang what is salad oil and can serve this mixed with speaghetti? i'm thinking that would be good.
> 
> baby screaming, be back soon


 
I use Olive oil ..........and yes you can mix this with pasta.


----------



## CharlieD

debbie24 said:
			
		

> ...
> charlieD am i going to be imitation crab?
> 
> ...


 
what did you mean? my russian humor doesn't click ...


----------



## debbie24

LOL your quote at the bottom says "you are what you eat".  LoL.


----------



## Constance

Goodweed of the North said:
			
		

> If you have clam juice in the house, use it along with the milk from Constance's recipe to add a wonderfully complimentary flavor to the fake crab.
> 
> In fact, that basic sauce recipe is called a Bechemel and is one of the mother sauces (also called a grand sauce).  This is used to make a host of small or derivitive sauces.
> 
> The basic recipe is equal amounts of fat and flour, and either milk or cream to thin, with a bit of salt to flavor.  Just melt butter or heat oil in a pot.  Note how much you use.  add the same amount of measured flour, plus a bit of salt and stir into a thick paste.  This is called a roux.
> 
> Let cook while stirring for about a minute over medium heat.  Do'nt brown it.  That's the basis for a different kind of sauce and will taste substantialy different.  Add milk slowly while stirring until the roux thins into a rich sauce.  From this point you can add parmesan cheese to make an Alfredo, or Add whipped egg-whites and spinace to make bake into a spinach soufle, or add some gruyere cheese and egg yolks to make a Hollaindaise, or add...
> 
> You get the idea.
> 
> If you thin the roux with animal broth, such as beef, veal, pork, chicken, or seafood, it is another of the mother suaces called a veloute.  This is used for making various gravies, which is what you would want for your fake crab.  You can then use it as is for a gravy or sauce to spoon over pasta or rice, or you can transform it into various soups and chowders, a bisque, or stew.
> 
> I know, I'm giving you a lot to swallow without much in the way of recipes.  But that simple roux of flour and fat can be used to amke so much, even to thicken legume soups such as bean or split pea.  Just thin the roux with liquid from the soup until a thick sauce is formed, and then stir into the soup to suspend the solid particles and keep them from settling.  This is called binding the soup.
> 
> I use roux for so many things.  It's even part of the ingredient list for cream puffs, i.e. butter, flour, heated to make the roux, then milk to begin the dough, followed by eggs, stirred into the paste.  Then you have choux paste for making puffs, eclairs, protiferoles, etc.
> 
> Flour and fat, a wonderful thing
> 
> Seeeeya; Goodweed of the North




You explained that beautifully, Weed. 
It was years before I knew the proper name was Bechemel Sauce, and by then I'd called it White Sauce too long to change.
My Grandma Snarr taught me how to make it, and said once I'd learned that method, I could use it to cook all kinds of things. She was so right.


----------



## Chopstix

You can make a yummy omelette with shredded imitation crab and finely sliced scallions. (You can also add onions, cilantro, etc).


----------



## CharlieD

well, it is more on the spiritual level


----------



## TATTRAT

All I can say is Crab Rangoon...yum.


----------



## debbie24

what is crab rangoon?


----------



## TATTRAT

ahhhhh..it is like heaven in the mouth. Basicly it is surimi, garlic, and cream cheese all pocketed in wonton skin, pressed like a flower and deep fried. Served with a little sweet and sour sauce.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

You can add jsut a touch of sugar to the cream cheese/garlic/surimi mixture before flding the won ton skin around it.  That's how our local Chines Restaurant makes theirs, and it is so very good that I had to create a duplicate recipe at home.  And Tatgrat is right.  It is very good.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed fo the North


----------



## debbie24

thank you all for your suggestions and recipes.  i decided on the recipe Bangbang suggested and it was soo good.  its definately a keeper and i will be making shrimp scampi next time instead of using the crab.  Thanks.


----------



## Barb L.

debbie24 said:
			
		

> i have some imitation crab that i would like to use up.  hubby is not a salad person so thats kind of out.  i was thinking pasta.  any suggestions?  i'm new to cooking so any help will be appreciated.  i saw a few recipes for alfredo but i dont have any cream cheese in the house right now or parmesan cheese.  so sorry if this is a tough one.  thanks


 My husband makes hoagies with them with diced onion, little mayo or salad dressing, he really likes them on a toasted bun.


----------



## GB

CharlieD said:
			
		

> well, it is more on the spiritual level


So she will be a spiritual crab


----------



## ChefJune

the Surimi people tout their product as "imitation crab," but if you ever tasted them side by side, you'd be surprised at how different they taste.  I used to use it too, a long time ago, before I found out what they put into it...  _very_ cheap fish "pieces," corn syrup (the last package said "high fructose" to boot!) salt and artificial color.

I guess you've figured out by now that I'm one of those "natural foods" nuts...  sorry if I hijacked your thread.


----------



## Hopz

I have a reccomendation for your imatation crab...

Try putting it under your rose bushes, or gosh even stuffing it down the disposall would be good.

This must be a matter of personal opinion, but that stuff is considerably lacking in all crab-like attributes (trying to say that tactfully).


----------



## debbie24

Its ok ChefJune.  I was looking at the ingredients list also and didnt like what it said too much.  it was good but i dont think i will ever buy it again.  it was something i tried and it wasnt anything great so whats the point.


----------



## TATTRAT

It is fish hot dogs, no biggie.


----------



## ChefJune

TATTRAT said:
			
		

> It is fish hot dogs, no biggie.


   

Now you're giving all hot dogs a bad name!


----------



## TATTRAT

sorry...:runsandhides:

LONG LIVE THE NATHANS DOG!


----------



## Constance

Personally, I like the stuff. I can tell the difference, but it's OK. I'm landlocked here in the sticks, and don't have much in the way of fresh crab to compare it to anyway.

Fish hotdogs...good comparison, Tattrat. But then, I love hot dogs, too.


----------



## TATTRAT

That was my point. It is imitation crab...not crab. Erks' me when folks are like,"it's not like crab",  we know that, hence IMITATION. It has its uses and I have and will continue to use it. It makes for an ok filler when doing large seafood caseroles and such. I wouldn't eat it straight up, but when cut with real seafood, it is certainly pallatable, IMO.

It resembles the "snow crab"legs I guess, here on the east coast, everyone eats  bluecrab. Surimi has nothing in common with bluecrab.


----------



## GB

TATTRAT said:
			
		

> but when cut with real seafood, it is certainly pallatable, IMO.


It actually IS real seafood. It is not real crab, but it is made from other fishes.

On a side note, my old neigbor and and friends dad was the first person in the US to start importing the imitation crab. He became extremely rich almost overnight. It you ever see Jada brand, that is his. It is named after his daughter and son. He used the first two letters of each of their names (Jana and David). 

I like the stuff for what it is. It tastes nothing like crab to me, but I think it still has its place.


----------



## Shunka

Agreed, GB!!!!!!


----------



## Constance

It's mostly pollack, from what I understand. 

As you all know, I don't get around so well, and have accepted the fact that sometimes I have to take shortcuts. 
The Zatarain's Gumbo is pretty darned tasty, especialy if you add a little filo when you dish it up. I usually add medium shrimp, sliced smoked sausage, and imitation crab. If I have a bit of cooked chicken, I may add that too. 

Now, it doesn't taste anything like the gumbo Naomi or Mrs. Bordice made, or what we got at Felix in New Orleans...I think for that experience, you just have to be there. It's also not as good as what I make when I stand over the stove for hours'

But we enjoy it.


----------



## BreezyCooking

I agree that you have to take it for what it is.  I don't think any buys it thinking it's "real" crab, & can't understand why people get their knickers in a twist about it.

I also really really enjoy canned &/or packaged Asian-seasoned wheat gluten (aka Setain).  Many times it comes under the title of "Mock Duck".  Do I think I'm buying duck?  Heck no!  Do I still like it.  Heck yes!

Again this all boils down to nothing more than personal taste.


----------



## Sephora

It's at least pallitable and tastes closer to crab than imitation lobster tastes to lobster.  Now that's just discusting.  

Imitation crab makes great quiche and it's super easy.


----------



## ChefJune

BreezyCooking said:
			
		

> I agree that you have to take it for what it is. I don't think any buys it thinking it's "real" crab, & can't understand why people get their knickers in a twist about it.
> 
> I also really really enjoy canned &/or packaged Asian-seasoned wheat gluten (aka Setain). Many times it comes under the title of "Mock Duck". Do I think I'm buying duck? Heck no! Do I still like it. Heck yes!
> 
> Again this all boils down to nothing more than personal taste.


Seitan is good food, if you like that kind of thing.  Imitation crab is pretty much garbage food that the industry has sold folks on buying.  We weren't talking about "personal taste" in the last couple of posts!  No one has their "knickers in a twist" as you so colorfully described..... If I can't afford real crab then I'll serve something else altogether.


----------



## Sephora

ChefJune said:
			
		

> Seitan is good food, if you like that kind of thing. Imitation crab is pretty much garbage food that the industry has sold folks on buying. We weren't talking about "personal taste" in the last couple of posts! No one has their "knickers in a twist" as you so colorfully described..... If I can't afford real crab then I'll serve something else altogether.


Don't they say "one man's trash is another man's treasure"?  I would never use real crab in a quiche.  That would be the worlds most expensive quiche and it wouldn't taste the same.  But I would never make a crab cake with immitation crab.  Immitation crab has it's place and I see nothing wrong with using it in appropriate recipes.


----------



## JustJoel

*Surimi-specific recipes?*

I’ve always eschewed surimi, aka imitation crab, aka krab. I love crab so much that it just seemed like an abomination (ironically, for those follow kosher, it’s _real_ crab that’s the abomination. But today while I was on my shopping job, I passed by a tasting station that was offering sushi rolls undoubtedly made with surimi. “What the hell?” I thought, and tried one. It didn’t taste like crab, really, although it _was_ a bit seafood-ish. It was really good!

So, my question is, are there any recipes out there that are specifically designed for surimi? Recipes that don’t use it as a substitute for crab, but as an ingredient in and of itself, in a dish that actually tastes better with surimi than it does with crab?


----------

