Copycat Crab Casserole from Hunan Chinese Buffet is a combination of crabmeat, cabbage, celery, sweet red bell peppers, mild cheddar cheese, cream cheese,sour cream, mayo, soy sauce, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and a touch of seasoning. The Copycat Crab Casserole from Hunan Chinese Buffet is then baked to a bubbly perfection in a 350-degree oven for about 30 minutes.

If you live near the Olive Branch Mississippi or Memphis area chances are you may have visited the Hunan Chinese Buffet on Goodman Road, it’s the Mississippi hot spot for lunch after church and always packed. There’s Crab Casserole on their American side of the buffet table that my mom loves so much. Every Sunday after church she piles a little on her plate and devours it, proclaiming it to be really good.I decided while my mom was at work I would make the Copycat version of Hunan Chinese Buffet and surprise her tonight; it turned out delicious. It only took me about 40 minutes from start to finish to make it’s so simple and quick to put together and only needs to bake for 30 minutes.

Let’s talk a bit about the ingredient crab, at Hunan they use imitation crab meat; now some of you are wondering what exactly is imitation crab meat? Is it fake meat? What is it made from? Some of you just think oh, heck no I’m not about to eat imitation crab meat, heck to the NO!

For those of you wondering what imitation crab meat is made from: Imitation Crabmeat is a processed seafood made of starch and finely pulverized white fish aka surimi, then shaped and cured to resemble the meat of snow crab or Japanese spider crab. Compared to real crab meat, imitation crab has a less fat and calories. However, it  may also contain sodium, food coloring, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Pyrophosphate, gluten, and sugar.

Now, what are my thoughts on this? I think everyone should make their own food choices, however, I like to keep you informed on ingredients y’all; as you know from following this blog. By all means, if you enjoy imitation crab and it is more cost efficient who am I to tell you to pay through the nose for lump crabmeat? Use either or.

In the recipe below, you can easily use either lump crabmeat or imitation crabmeat whichever fits your budget or you enjoy most y’all. At the Hunan Buffet they use the imitation crab meat and my mom loves it so for her, I have made my Copycat Crab Casserole  using imitation crab meat, you can use whichever you prefer in yours.

Copycat Crab Casserole from Hunan Chinese Buffet

• 16 ounces of lump or imitation crab meat
• 2 cups of shredded raw cabbage
• 1/4 of a cup of thinly sliced celery
• 1/8 of a cup of diced red bell peppers
• 1 and 1/4 cup of mild cheddar cheese
• 8-ounces of cream cheese softened
• 1/4 of a cup of sour cream
• 1/4 of a cup mayonnaise
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/4 of a teaspoon of garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons of sugar
• a pinch of salt
• cooking spray

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. In a medium glass bowl combine crab meat. shredded cabbage, celery, diced red bell peppers, 1 cup of mild cheddar cheese, softened cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, juice of 2 lemons, soy sauce, garlic powder, sugar, and a pinch of salt.
3.  Prepare a glass baking dish with cooking spray, then add combined ingredients to baking dish. Top with the remaining cheese, then cover the baking dish with foil.
4. Place in a preheated 350-degree oven and bake 30 minutes.
5. Serve while still hot with crackers, bread, or by itself as a side dish to your meal.
6. Enjoy!

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