I Make Peace with Krab

I Make Peace with Krab

I’ve been on a diet. Oh, I know what you’re going to ask, “But, Dave, why? You don’t need to diet!”

Kind of you to say.

Yet, my old pants don’t fit…jeez, my old socks don’t fit. I need to drop a few.

So, perusing food labels, I came across this fun fact: there’s only 175 calories and no fat in a package of Louis Kemp Crab Delights.



Now, I’m on record for despising the lie of serving Krab for Crab, but you know, surimi is not bad, for what it is, which ain’t much, but still, it’s less than 200 calories for a whole package.

In the early 80’s, I went to this swank joint in Geneva called, as I recall, 312 West. They served a “seafood sausage” that, in retrospect, I’m pretty sure was surimi. I really liked it. Then I found out about surimi, which I disliked on principle, and even more when unprincipled restaurateurs tried to fool me into thinking it was something it wasn’t.

Tasting a little last night, I realized, I could eat a lot of this stuff. It'd be kind of boring, but no more boring than shopping for new pants.

This stuff, methinks, might help satisfy my hunger without adding much to my gut. Add a little wasabi and soy and shit, it could pass for low-grade sushi.

Plus, a regular sized package, normally around $3.50, is currently priced at Jewel for just a $1.00. Just bought 10.

Hammond

Not that I've done tons of research on this, but I have discovered that different brands vary tremendously in flavor/quality. Unfortunately I can't remember the brand(s) that I favored...
The first time I went to Arun's (at the old location)he used the stuff in the seafood curry- which made me mildly pissy.

My mom used to make omelets with krab, which I used to eat with just a little bit of hot sauce and rice on the side. I think this preparation might be better than sushi format. The omelet masked somewhat the funny texture of krab (maybe not true of the Kemp brand), which is much denser and more rubber-like than the real stuff could ever be.

Thanks for the diet tip. I'm off to get some surimi.

I, too, will admit that when I'm dieting and am on the search for a high-protein, low-calorie snack, that krab does the trick. (In fact, I'd forgotten about it recently, and will have to pick some up.) I take mine with a horseradishy-cocktail sauce, but will give it a try with soy and wasabi.

chgoeditor wrote:I, too, will admit that when I'm dieting and am on the search for a high-protein, low-calorie snack, that krab does the trick.

Krab is fine...but wait until you try cicada! Super high protein, very low cal, yet with a taste like peanut butter and the deep earthy tang of a creature that's lived underground for 17 years.

To preface slightly, I may have the distinction of being one of the few people who, thus far, prefers Krab to Crab. I'm sure I'll have my mind changed sometime, perhaps soon, as I am finally emerging from the grips of a life-long aversion to seafood.

Krab, however, given its dietetic properties and budget-friendliness, was popular with my college roommates and soon found its way into my diet.

One of my favorite Krab dinners is a version of chirashi sushi. Made with white or brown rice that was tossed with Krab, carrot, bits of nori, avocado and whatever suitable vegetables were kicking around the fridge, i'm sure it bears little resemblance to actual chirashi sushi. But it is fast, tasty, wholesome enough, and keeps well in the fridge for a few days. I like it best at room temperature, with pickled ginger and wasabi. And a cold Sapporo, of course.

What are the sodium levels like? My guess is they'd be "off the charts," but I'd be happy to learn I'm wrong.

I don't have high blood pressure and so don't have to watch every last gram of sodium, but I don't like to be reckless, either. Even very-high-sodium foods are fine once in a while, but a regular "diet" (in both senses of the word) of Krab, if it's as high in sodium as the taste makes me think it is, might not be a good idea. (But maybe Krab only tastes salty; or maybe the kind I've had is salty, but not the kind you found.)

riddlemay wrote:What are the sodium levels like? My guess is they'd be "off the charts," but I'd be happy to learn I'm wrong.

I don't have high blood pressure and so don't have to watch every last gram of sodium, but I don't like to be reckless, either. Even very-high-sodium foods are fine once in a while, but a regular "diet" (in both senses of the word) of Krab, if it's as high in sodium as the taste makes me think it is, might not be a good idea. (But maybe Krab only tastes salty; or maybe the kind I've had is salty, but not the kind you found.)

You raise a good point: sodium levels are probably high; however, my blood pressure remains in good shape and I tend to be reckless...so Krab is Kool with me!

Hammond

In the story about cicadas featuring cooksguide, C2, The Wife and me, I hope you guys noticed how I snuck the Louis Kemp Crab Delights into one shot:

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?sectio ... id=5336385

David Hammond wrote:In the story about cicadas featuring cooksguide, C2, The Wife and me, I hope you guys noticed how I snuck the Louis Kemp Crab Delights into one shot:

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?sectio ... id=5336385

If you are trying to land a corporate sponsorship deal, I am not sure that placing the product next to a bowl of crawling insects is the right approach.

Actually, I think Hammond is trying to get the franchise on the cicada market, eh?

BTW, here are some nice recipes for the little (or is it 'big' relatively speaking) buggers:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... Id=1866011

Just think, it's ALMOST cicada season in the Mid-west! Add some wasabi, and crunch away!

Geo

Looked at that:

Any recipe that starts with

"1 cup Worcestershire Sauce"...

might be a tipoff that what follows is not such a gourmet adventure, though maybe a bit of gourmand showoff!

You could braise a spare tire in 1 cup Worcestershire Sauce and make a pretty good meal of it.

Well, OK, you would probably have to julienne the tire first.

Just look at the cicadas and enjoy the marvels of nature. Like, how in hell could they have evolved such a convoluted life cycle.

Marvelous.

Mike

MikeLM wrote:Looked at that:

Any recipe that starts with

"1 cup Worcestershire Sauce"...

might be a tipoff that what follows is not such a gourmet adventure, though maybe a bit of gourmand showoff!

You could braise a spare tire in 1 cup Worcestershire Sauce and make a pretty good meal of it.

Well, OK, you would probably have to julienne the tire first.

Just look at the cicadas and enjoy the marvels of nature. Like, how in hell could they have evolved such a convoluted life cycle.

Marvelous.

Mike

I'm not sure why you seem contemptuous of Worcestershire Sauce (maybe I'm misinterpreting), but I'm with you all the way regarding the marvel of the cicada. The second day I went out to forage for them, I was standing in front of a tree in the early morning watching all the phases of the cicada life happening right there in front of me: coming out of the ground for the first time in 17 years, the pilgrimage to the tree, the transformation, the emergence. Hunting this prey gave me a newfound respect for this being.