Radish cake with crab and hot mint

The radish cake is best made a few days in advance. To prepare the radish cake, peel then grate the radish into a pan, sprinkle it with salt and leave to cure for 30 minutes. After this time, use a clean tea towel to squeeze as much liquid as you can out of the grated radish, reserving the liquid in a bowl below. Place the squeezed grated radish flesh back into the pan

Weigh the dry radish. Times that weight by 3 and add that amount of the reserved liquid back into the pan (using some water to top up if necessary). Halve the dry radish weight and add that amount of rice flour into the radish mixture. Stir to combine then place over a medium heat, stirring all the time until the mixtures begins to turn translucent

Transfer to terrine mould lined with cling film, then cover and place the terrine into a large steamer (set at 100°C if using a steam oven) for around 30 minutes. Leave to cool, then empty out the cake onto a board. It is best to keep the cake in the fridge for a day or two to dry out before use

​​Place the crab in a large steamer basket and steam for 12 minutes, then place in a bowl of ice to cool

Once cooled the crab can be broken down and the white meat separated from the brown meat. Watch our how-to video here to see how to do this. Set aside the white and brown meat in 2 separate bowls and keep the shells too

To make the crab broth, preheat an oven to 200ºC/gas mark 6. Place the crab shells on a tray and drizzle with a small splash of oil. Place the tomatoes on a separate tray. Roast both in the hot oven until the aroma of crab shells is present and the tomatoes are collapsed and caramelised – about 15-20 minutes (though it may not be the same amount of time for both)

Whilst the shells are roasting, use a hand blender to pulse the reserved brown meat until smooth, then pass through a sieve to ensure it is completely smooth. Reserve in the fridge

Transfer the roasted shells to a large pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, skim off any foam from the surface then add the roasted tomatoes and simmer over a low heat for 2 hours

Pass the crab and tomato broth through a fine sieve into a clean pan. Reduce over a medium heat and keep checking for the desired concentration. When you are happy with the flavour remove from the heat then add salt and a little fruit vinegar to taste

Portion the radish cake into finger-sized pieces (any leftover cake can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and makes a great snack with some soy sauce for dipping). Place a deep pan of oil over a high heat and just before it starts to smoke, deep-fry the radish cakes (working in batches if needed) until a deep golden brown all over. Remove and drain on kitchen paper

To serve, mix the white crab meat with a spoonful of the brown and season. Place a finger of radish cake in the bottom of each bowl and top with some of the seasoned white crab meat and a spoonful of the smooth brown meat. Pour a little of the hot broth around and garnish with your selection of herbs