Cracked Crab with Tamarind Sauce

Name: Cracked Crab with Tamarind Sauce
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Global
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons hot chili flakes; 2 cooked Dungeness crabs (about 2 lb. each), cleaned and cracked (see below); 1 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro; 1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger; 1 Tbsp minced garlic; 118 milliliters honey; 59 milliliters reduced-sodium soy sauce; 59 milliliters salad oil; 118 milliliters thinly sliced shallots; 296 milliliters tamarind concentrate (see notes)

Cracked Crab with Tamarind Sauce might be just the main course you are searching for. This recipe makes 4 servings with 304 calories, 16g of protein, and 1g of fat each. This recipe covers 17% of your daily requirements of vitamins and minerals. It is a good option if you're following a gluten free, dairy free, and pescatarian diet. Head to the store and pick up honey, dungeness crabs, shallots, and a few other things to make it today. To use up the low sodium soy sauce you could follow this main course with the Sweet Potato Chia Seed Pudding with Chocolate Sauce as a dessert. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes about 45 minutes.

Instructions

Pour oil into a 14-inch wok or a 5- to 6-quart pan over high heat. When it's hot, add shallots and stir often until well browned and crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer shallots to paper towels to drain.

Ingredients you will need

Shallot

Cooking Oil

Equipment you will use

Slotted Spoon

Paper Towels

Frying Pan

Wok

To wok, add tamarind concentrate, honey, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and chili flakes. Bring to a boil and stir often until mixture is reduced to 1 cup, about 5 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Tamarind Paste

Red Pepper Flakes

Soy Sauce

Garlic

Ginger

Honey

Equipment you will use

Wok

Add crab and stir until coated with sauce and hot, about 5 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Sauce

Crab

Pour crab onto a rimmed platter.

Ingredients you will need

Crab

Sprinkle with shallots and cilantro.

Ingredients you will need

Cilantro

Shallot

How to cook crab

Ingredients you will need

Crab

Keep live crabs loosely covered in the refrigerator up to 12 hours. Grasp crabs carefully from the rear end, between the legs, and put in a pan to make sure they fit, with 3 to 4 inches of clearance below pan rim.

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

Remove crabs and fill pan with enough water to cover crabs by 2 to 3 inches. Cover pan and bring water to a boil over high heat.

Ingredients you will need

Water

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

One at a time, grasp crabs as described above and plunge them headfirst into the boiling water; if you have too much water, ladle out excess and discard. Cover pan and start timing. When water resumes boiling, reduce heat to a simmer. Cook 1 1/2- to 2 1/2-pound crabs 15 minutes, 3-pound crabs about 20 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Water

Equipment you will use

Ladle

Frying Pan

Drain crabs; to be able to handle quickly, rinse briefly with cool water.

Ingredients you will need

Water

How to clean, crack, and shell crab

Ingredients you will need

Crab

Pull off and discard triangular flap from belly side.

Turn crab belly side down; pulling from the rear end, lift off back shell.

Ingredients you will need

Crab

Drain and discard liquid from shell. If desired, scoop soft, golden crab butter and white crab fat from shell into a small bowl to eat by the spoonful with crab or to stir into a dipping sauce. If using back shell for garnish, break bony section (mouth) from front end of shell and discard. Rinse shell well and drain.

Ingredients you will need

Dipping Sauce

Butter

Crab

Equipment you will use

Bowl

On the body section, pull off and discard reddish membrane that covers the center (if it hasn't come off with the back) and any loose pieces. Scoop out any remaining golden butter and add to bowl. Pull off and discard long, spongy gills from sides of body. Rinse body well with cool water.

Ingredients you will need

Butter

Water

Equipment you will use

Bowl

Twist legs and claws from body. Using a nutcracker or wood mallet, crack the shell of each leg and claw section. With a knife, cut the body into quarters.

Equipment you will use

Knife

Break apart legs and claws; using your fingers, a small fork, a pick, or a crab leg tip, remove meat. Pull body sections apart and dig out pockets of meat. Discard shells. One cooked, cleaned 1 3/4- to 2-pound crab (with back shell) yields 7 1/2 to 8 ounces (1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cups) of meat; heavier crabs do not always have more meat.

Ingredients you will need

Pasta Shells

Crab

Meat

Equipment

Ingredients

Servings:

2teaspoons

hot chili flakes 2

cooked Dungeness crabs (about 2 lb. each), cleaned and cracked (see below)1Tbsp

minced fresh cilantro 1Tbsp

minced fresh ginger 1Tbsp

minced garlic 118milliliters

honey 59milliliters

reduced-sodium soy sauce 59milliliters

salad oil 118milliliters

thinly sliced shallots 296milliliters

tamarind concentrate (see notes)

Recommended wine: Chardonnay, Muscadet, Riesling

Shellfish works really well with Chardonnay, Muscadet, and Riesling. Buttery chardonnay is great for scallops, shrimp, crab, and lobster, while muscadet is a classic pick for mussels, oysters, and clams. If you've got some spice in your shellfish, a semi-dry riesling can balance out the heat. One wine you could try is GEN5 Chardonnay. It has 4.3 out of 5 stars and a bottle costs about 9 dollars.