Today I will show you how to make one of J’s favorite dishes: crabmeat pancakes!

This is actually a dish that my mother invented one day while goofing around in the kitchen…and it’s become quite popular in our family. It’s very simple but can take some time to make.

The three main ingredients are: artificial crabmeat (the kind you get at Asian markets), squash, and eggs. You can choose to add more veggies like peppers, onions, or scallions if you wish.

For this batch, I used 2 squashes, 15 crabmeat sticks, and 3 eggs.

First, cut up your squash very finely. I use a mandolin to speed up the process.

When you’re done slicing the squash, lightly sprinkle some salt on it and leave it in a strainer to drain. (The salt will help get rid of the excess water in the squash.)

Next, put on a pair of plastic gloves (or just use clean, bare hands) and shred the crabmeat.

This is the time-consuming part. I usually do this while watching TV.

By the time you’re done shredding the crabmeat, your squash should’ve had sufficient time to drain. For extra measure, squeeze out the excess water.

Combine the crabmeat and squash. If you plan on adding more veggies, this is where you would add them.

Add the eggs. Be careful not to add too much – I usually start with just two and add more only if needed. I mix this with my hands too so that you can really massage the eggs in with the other ingredients.

Notice the texture in the above photo – you want the mixture to be thick and not runny.

Now you’re ready to start cooking! Set your burner to medium heart, lightly drizzle some oil onto a pan and scoop on the mixture, making the pieces about 4″-6″ in diameter.

Two things of note during this step:

1. Do not over-cook! Once the egg portion looks done, it’s time to flip!
2. The mixture will start to separate while waiting in the bowl. I advise that you keep stirring/mixing while waiting for the pieces on the pan to cook.

That’s it! This dish can be served warm or cold, so if you have leftovers, just keep them in the fridge and munch on them later!

On a related note, I wanted to share with you an amazing Korean cooking website I found today: http://www.maangchi.com/! Not only does it have some amazing recipes, it also has a search-by-ingredient feature, videos, and forums! I’ve forwarded the link to all my girlfriends who like cooking and received many “thank you”s in response.