Frittering Away the Time

After making drunken noodles over the weekend, I had about 6 ounces of crabmeat left over. I had originally thought a crab salad would be a good idea, then realized it would not be enough for two people. Remembering a shrimp cocktail I once had in London that was an odd combination of shrimp, corn kernels, and a close relative of Thousand Island dressing, I thought that adding some corn to the crab salad might work to bulk it up. But then something in the recesses of my mind whispered "fritters" to me. More accurately, it said, "placki." Growing up in a Polish household, I ate a helluva lot of placki (pronounced "plotsky") in my day, mostly potato, but sometimes corn. Once in a while Grandma felt adventurous and made asparagus placki, using that nasty metallic-tasting mush from a can. (That was the only asparagus I was familiar with, so at the time it wasn't so weird. And the placki were actually pretty good.) Why wouldn't corn and crab placki work?

I did a brief search of the Web and found that the two ingredients seemed to be made for each other, as there were dozens of fritter recipes. I borrowed heavily from a couple of them to create these:

Corn, Crab, and Coriander Fritters
1 cup corn kernels, thawed and well-drained if frozen
6 oz crab meat
3 scallions, white and green parts chopped fine
3 tblsp cilantro, chopped fine
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
Salt & pepper to taste
oil or nonstick cooking spray

Whisk together eggs, flour, baking powder, and milk until smooth. Add remaining ingredients except crab and oil and mix well. Fold in crabmeat. Set batter aside for about half an hour to rest.

I used a pancake griddle sprayed with Pam, but you can use a skillet with oil, if you prefer. Dollop the batter on and spread slightly with back of spoon to form approximately 4" flat rounds. Cook until browned on bottom, then flip to brown other side, pressing down with spatula to flatten more, if necessary. As they become cooked, transfer fritters to a plate and keep warm by covering with aluminum foil.

Serve hot with Sriracha, sweet soy, or plain. Garnish with additional chopped cilantro and scallions, if desired.

Makes 12 fritters.