Ginger Scallion Crab

Photo by Rob Robitaille

Crab was on sale at our local market the other day.  There were impressive king crab legs and snow crab legs.  So, decision time.  Which one?  King crab is, well, king.  But it pokes your hands when you work on wrestling the meat out and takes one heck of a big pot to steam, so I decided on snow crab, my second favorite.  But after having lobster last weekend, I really wasn't in the mood to be slathering these in butter, but instead decided on an Asian inspired preparation.  Crab steamed with ginger and scallions.  Man, were they good, and they were really simple.  One thing you need to know about me is that I never measure, so my recipes are mere guidelines.  I try to get it as close as I can, but you need to let your senses guide you. 

The ingredients (for two people) are as follows:

• Oil for frying (canola, or peanut is even better)
• 2 TB ginger, minced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 LBs crab legs, cut into manageable sized pieces (body, first section of leg, end of leg, claws-chela, actually from high school biology)
• 3-4 TB water
• Salt to taste
• A splash of the sauce from the recipe below
• 4-5 scallion, cut into 4 inch pieces
• Sticky rice, recipe follows
• Stir fried napa cabbage, recipe follows

Heat your wok until smoking hot (in the mean time, you need to get the rice going-multitask, baby).  Add the oil, swirl around to coat the sides a bit, then throw in your ginger and garlic.  Stir fry for a minute or two, until fragrant, but not browned.  Add the crab and stir fry for another minute or two.  Add the water, salt, and sauce and stir fry until the sauce starts to come together, then cover for a couple minutes.  Uncover and stir a few times.  Add scallions and cover for five minutes.  Remove to warm plates and set aside in a warm place. Don't rinse the wok because you can make following Stir Fried Napa Cabbage, and the fragrance of the crab will make it that much better.

Photo by Rob Robitaille

As much as we would love to try, we can't live on crab alone, so we should add something green.  As far as I can tell, my ancestry is German, French-Canadian, and perhaps some other wanderer somewhere along the line, which would not adequately explain why I have a love for chop sticks.  I don't know why, but I absolutely love to eat with them. It's kind of weird, actually. Ergo, my love for anything you can eat with them, hence this recipe.

The ingredients:

• Oil for frying (canola, or peanut is even better)
• 1 TB ginger, minced
• 1 small clove garlic, crushed
• 1 football sized head of napa cabbage, cut cross wise into 2 inch pieces
• Splash of water
• 1/4 cup oyster sauce
• 1 TB soy sauce
• 2 TB water mixed with 1 TB corn starch
• Salt and white pepper to taste

Just like for the crab, heat your wok until smoking.  Add the oil and swirl around to coat the sides of the wok.  Add the ginger and garlic.  Stir fry until fragrant, but not browned.  Add the napa and stir fry for about 2 minutes.  Add a splash of water and cover the wok and let the cabbage soften, just a bit more.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir fry until the sauce comes together.  Server over the sticky rice.

I love sticky rice, and nothing could be simpler.  I use a ratio of 1 part rice to 2 parts water.  Measure the rice and place in a wire mesh sieve.  Rinse briefly under cold water.  Place the rice and proper ratio of water into a small sauce pan.  Cover and place over high heat.  When it begins to boil, reduce the heat to low and set your timer for ten minutes.  Once ten minutes is done, remove from the heat.  Resist the urge to peek until you are ready to server.

I hope you try this, however it is best enjoyed with people you know.  I don't think it would be too cool to invite someone over for a first date and gnaw apart crab legs.  In fact, I could barely see through my glasses after my wife and I had this last night.  So, enjoy them with friends that accept you for who you are and don't mind seeing you using your teeth to crack open crab shells.  Enjoy.