I had a crabby holiday. Really crabby.
Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, it’s a local holiday tradition to have crab on the table for Thanksgiving or Christmas. This year, I found Sophie’s Kitchen Vegan Crab Cakes in the frozen section at my local Whole Foods. On sale no less, on top of that, I also had a coupon.
With all of the activity going on in the kitchen, the crab cakes were quick and easy to heat up. I prefer it baked to pan-fried. The texture was good, and it tastes best with a little tarter sauce or some sort of aioli. Though, like their other products, it doesn’t really taste like seafood.
The base for Sophie’s vegan seafood products is konjac root (a plant native to Asia), making it soy free and gluten free. I’ve tried quite a few of their products now, my favorites are the Breaded Vegan Shrimp and Breaded Vegan Calamari with the crab cakes coming in close behind. I usually only get them when they’re on sale, automatically making them a once in a while treat.
In case you’re wondering what’s that purple thing on my plate, it’s purple yam. My mom picked it up at her local farmer’s market. Baked, they have a nutty, slightly sweet flavor but not as sweet as an orange-colored sweet potato.
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cool! I actually have a coupon for a free Sophie’s product, and I gotta put it to use! :)
i have been searching for good vegetarian sea food for years! its the one food i really miss, and can’t seem to find a good substitute. also those yams look awesome! never seen anything like it!
These look so good!
I tried their crab cakes a while back, and I had high hopes since I love so many other vegan crab cakes. (The zucchini cakes in Vegan Table, the tempeh cakes in Vegan Brunch, and Fat Free Vegan’s jackfruit cakes are all fabulous.) However, the texture of the Sophie’s Kitchen cakes didn’t work for me. I found them to be gummy. I wonder if it was because I thawed them first. That’s what it says to do on the package, but maybe it would be better straight from freezer to oven. What do you do?
Since you like their breaded vegan shrimp, I’ll have to try that sometime!
Konjac is an interesting ingredient. I’ve read that it can cause bloating and stomach pain, and is often used as an appetite suppressant. But that may be in a more processed form. I’ve tried it in noodle form, and although I love cellophane noodles, the texture of the shiritaki was a little too weird. I wonder if it’s the same weird texture that Cadry is talking about. Maybe I’ll look for the breaded shrimp — and a coupon!
Interesting…I’ll definitely try the purple yams when I happen across them. Not the first time I’ve heard about konjac. Don’t you love it when you try stuff when they are on offer!
I’ve finally managed to get my hands on a few Sophie’s Kitchen products, but haven’t yet tried them. I’m bummed I didn’t pick up the crab cakes after reading this, though! I think I might enjoy them even more knowing that they’re not particularly “fishy.”
amey – Lucky you! I only had a dollar off coupon.
LittleMonsterx14 – Good veggie seafood is tough to get right, the texture is similar but it doesn’t really taste like seafood.
Noelle – It sure was yummy!
Cadry – I haven’t tried making veggie crab cakes at home yet so I can’t compare those to these. Mine thawed in a cooler since I was traveling in a car for a few hours. They didn’t seem too gummy to me. I’ll have to try the recipe versions and see how they all compare.
Andrea – I haven’t heard that about konjac, supposely it’s high in fiber and low in calories. I haven’t tried the shiritaki noodles either, I usually just stick to the rice noodles. There’s a $1 off coupon on their website.
india-leigh – The purple yams were a nice surprise. I pretty much only try new stuff when they’re on sale.
Hannah – They’re not fishy at all. :-)
Those crab cakes look awesome, wish I could get them around here!