How To: Bake Crabsticks

Did you manage to spot which CNY goodies I contributed?
Crispy crap crab sticks are synonymous with the lunar new year. But, in my failed attempt to get my parents to eat healthy, I decided to bake instead of deep frying. After doing some research, it was actually quite possible to carry out.

I bought two different brands. This is the one that you don't want to get as the texture wasn't very good and couldn't hold itself together like me when in duress.

As these usually come in frozen like your ex's heart, remove them from the packaging first and let them thaw for awhile.

Spread them open like you'd want to spread any hot chick's legs. This is to allow it to dry.
Since I was baking them, I suppose I could skip this part but it also helped to warm the sheets up faster.

This is where opinions may divide. Do you separate them using knife, scissors or just pull them apart? I used knife initially because my kitchen knife was sharp and nothing gets my groove on like slicing through things with it.
Preheat the oven to about 170C while you contemplate on how lazy you are.

This is the part where you shouldn't follow. I arrange the crabmeat on some baking paper on my baking tray.

Bake it at 170C for 15 to 20minutes. I had to flip mine around as my oven didn't have an even heat distribution. When it came out, the meat was all stuck to the paper as it was dried out with no fat/oil to separate it that the meat was glued firmly. As much as I tried to salvaged, the first batch was quite a total loss. Quite because I still ended up eating some even with the paper.

Having learnt my mistake, I used my glass ware for the second round, oiling it slightly.
Yes, I had to do it orderly. Not because of my anal nature but there was a risk of overlapping and sticking together if I don't.

It turned out slightly better but still rather dry. May be because the glass is too hot and it eventually dried the meat up. Even with a bit of oil, it still stuck to the glass that I had to scrape it off using a spoon, ending up with powdery crispy crab stick.

There was a website that tried using the microwave and the results were acceptable.
Mine ended up being dried out and sticking to each other (if not the plate). One step below my first batch.

By some stroke of genius, the idea of using aluminium foil popped up. It costs under RM 5 depending on the brand and size. No need for oiling. No need for cleaning (or easier to). But it was a waste to throw the foil away after that.

Thankfully, the foil method turned out to be the best. No drying out or sticking onto the foil, the crabstick turned out crunchy and not oily. Forgetful me forgot to take the final result of the foil. This is just the midway point before I flipped it around to continue baking. Despite adding nothing at all, they were quite salty on its own and can make you want to grab a drink.

Some of them were slightly burnt because I forgot about them while exercising on the treadmill while watching the idiot box. But they still made for a good snack from their crunchiness.

I made a few bottles. One of which was given away to a family friend during dinner. It was totally unexpected and I honestly hope that they didn't get diarrhea or food poisoning. Would I feel better if they had thrown it away because they didn't like it? In a way, yes. So why give it away in the first place?

It wasn't my decision =(