Crab Cakes with Ginger and Coconut Milk by Barbara Tropp

On the Gourmet Live's list of Women Food Changers there have been many women who have soaked in the lime light and those who may be a little less widely known. Dare I say we have never heard of them... until now. The next woman on the list is Barbara Tropp. Now who is Barbara you might ask? She is the daughter of podiatrists, who grew up in a Jewish community in Springfield, New Jersey and the #30 outstanding woman on our list. She mesmerized foodies from around the world with fusion Chinese for 11 years in my favourite town San Francisco. 

After falling in love with Chinese culture in an art class in high school, she took a different path than her Jewish upbringing and she became obsessed with the study of Chinese culture. Two years in Taiwan and a fortuitous stay with a chef and "foodie" host families led her to immerse herself in the intricacies of the Chinese cuisine she grew to love.  

Back at Princeton, the young graduate student struggled to finish her thesis. With her fellowship running out, she began giving cooking classes to supplement her income and cooking Chinese dinners for diversion.  She soon dropped out of Princeton and moved to San Francisco to be closer to their vibrant Chinese community and food markets. She could speak, read and write Chinese fluently and was the chef/owner of China Moon Cafe, an internationally acclaimed Chinese restaurant for 11 years. Similar to Chez Panisse in Berkeley, China Moon Cafe drew foodies from around the world who came for the unique combination of California cuisine infused with a deep knowledge of another traditional food culture. Frequent visitors to the restaurant during this time included Julia Child who was a dear friend. Barbara has written two definitive Chinese cookbooks, “The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking” and “China Moon Cookbook.” She lost her fight with ovarian cancer in 2001.


One of our simple pleasures in life is navigating the blogging community and participating where we can. Our group has now passed the halfway point on the list of Gourmet Live's 50 Women Game Changers. The past six months have flown by as we experiment with dishes from each of the 50 influential women on "the list." Whether you agree or disagree with the authors chosen fifty and their order it has been an enjoyable and creative outlet to cook from the masters and those we admire. There have even a few influential bloggers on the list.  We have checked out books from the library, borrowed cookbooks from friends, surfed the Internet and browsed our own cookbook collections seeking that one recipe that will highlight that weeks outstanding woman. This group is spearheaded by my favourite well-travelled blogger Mary of One Perfect Bite who back in June invited bloggers to travel along on a culinary journey throughout the year. It is still not too late to join in in 2012 so please contact Mary.This really has been a fascinating if not challenging exercise. We have learned so much, not just about each of these individual women and their lives but new techniques in the kitchen as well. We have been forced to think outside the box and recreate magic in our own kitchens.


What have we been up to with our 30th Women Game Changer....


Mary of One Perfect Bite  - Garlic Stewed Spare Rib Nuggets
Val of More Than Burnt Toast - Crab Cakes with Ginger and Coconut Milk
Susan of The Spice Garden - Wine Explosion Vegetable Chowder and Scallion Breads
Taryn of Have Kitchen, Will Feed  - Crystallized Ginger Butter Squares
Heather of Girlichef - Buttercup Squash Soup with Fried Ginger Threads
Miranda of Mangoes and Chutney - Sesame Scallop Balls
Jeanette at Jeanette's Healthy Living -Stir Fried Wild Rice with Wild Mushrooms
Kathleen Van Bruinisse at Bake Away with Me - Baby Sesame Biscotti
Barbara of Moveable Feasts - Ginger Ice Cream
Veronica of My Catholic Kitchen - Velvet Corn Soup
Annie  at Most Lovely Things
Claudia of Journey of an Italian Cook  - Eggplant Caviar


This version of Crab Cakes may have those on the East coast rallying about the purity of the crab cake but the sweetness of the crab is elevated by the coconut milk. I opted out of the  cilantro, as I always do,  using parsley instead since to me it would overpower the dish. If you read these pages you are aware I am not a huge fan of cilantro but do try the recipe in its original form if you are so inclined. Either way it would be outstanding.

**Barbara Tropp's Crab Cakes with Ginger and Coconut Milk**

• 1/4 a bunch of cilantro (or more to taste -- the original recipe uses one entire bunch), leaves and stems, finely chopped ( I personally used parsley)
• 2 tablespoons grated ginger
• 4 scallions, sliced into thin rings using the white part and about two inches of the green
• 1 teaspoon (or more to taste) Chinese chili sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup coconut milk
• 2 pieces white sandwich bread (the same type as Pepperidge Farm), crusts removed, in tiny pieces
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 pound jumbo lump blue claw crab meat

1. In a bowl, mix the cilantro, ginger, scallions, chili paste, salt, coconut milk, bread, and egg together. Set aside.


2. Inspect the crab meat for bits of shell being very careful not to break up the big lumps of crab.


3. Gently fold the cilantro ginger mixture into the crab. Taste for seasoning. Gently but firmly press the crab meat mixture into patties. I did this by filling 2-inch rings with the crab mixture, removing the ring and then gently pressing the edges towards the center. Place the patties on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper and let it sit in the refrigerator for about an hour which will make the crab cakes firmer and less prone to breaking apart.


4. Generously film a cast iron frying pan or whatever frying pan you may have with vegetable oil (this would not be the time to use olive oil) and saute the crab cakes until browned. Turn gently and brown the second side.


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