Melinda Lee - Clear Channel, Los Angeles
Everyone seems to love soft shell crab. Many of us order it at restaurants,
but aren’t sure how to prepare it at home. A dusting of seasoned flour and
a light pan-sauté will do the trick, but the very best way to make it is
in a crispy thin tempura batter. This deep-fry cooking method is actually a lower-fat
recipe than sautéing, because the crab is sealed in the crisp coating and
does not absorb the oil.
This recipe is adapted from one by Ming Tsai, a chef on the TV Food Network.
He uses rice flour, which is lighter and makes a better tempura batter than
all-purpose flour (though you may substitute if necessary) and he serves the
warm tempura pieces atop a cool salad tossed with an Asian vinaigrette which
incorporates more sweet onions, pureed in the dressing. See the “Cooks
Notes” following the recipe for comments on special ingredients.
The texture combination is wonderful in this dish – and all the components
can be readied in advance, with only the deep-frying done at the last minute.
Your fish store will prepare the crabs for cooking for you – but then you
must cook them within a short time of purchase; otherwise, purchase them live,
and clean them yourself. Another “Cook’s Note”below describes
the method for cleaning soft shell crabs.
SERVES 4
For the tempura:
2 cups, rice flour
1 teaspoon, ancho chile powder (or other chile powder)
2 tablespoons, raw sesame seeds
1 quart (approximately) cold club soda
4 large soft shell crabs – cleaned
12 medium-size asparagus stalks – peeled if necessary
1 Maui* onion, cut into thick, 1/2-inch rings
*Note: substitute Walla-Walla, Vidalia, or other sweet onion – or soak
red
*onion rings in ice water for an hour or so, and pat dry before using.
For the salad:
1 large Maui onion (or other, as above) – peeled and coarsely chopped
1/3 cup, yuzu or ponzu or rice wine vinegar [see “Cook’s Notes”
below]
1 teaspoon, sugar
1 tablespoon, soy sauce
1 teaspoon, sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste
4 cups, mixed salad greens
To make the tempura: Preheat deep-fry oil to 350 degrees (use a tall,
heavy pot, filled no more than half full with oil, if you don’t have a
deep-fryer). In a large bowl, mix together the flour, chile powder and sesame
seeds. Whisk in the chilled club soda until the mixture has the consistency
of pancake batter. Dip one crab, 3 asparagus spears and 2 onion rings in the
tempura batter and completely coat them with batter. Lightly drop these pieces
into the 350-degree oil and fry for 4-5 minutes until golden brown. Remove the
cooked pieces from the pan; drain on paper towels, brown paper or a wire rack
– and season the pieces immediately (while they’re hot) with salt
and pepper. Repeat with the remaining crab, asparagus and onion, in the same
size batches.
To make the salad: In a blender or food processor, blend together the
Maui onion with all other ingredients EXCEPT the salad greens, until smoothly
pureed. Taste for seasoning. Toss the salad lightly with the vinaigrette (do
not coat the greens heavily with the dressing).
To serve: For each serving, on a large plate, drizzle some vinaigrette.
Place a small mound of salad in the center of the plate. Cut a crab in half,
and place both halves atop the salad; add the asparagus and onion ring tempura
pieces.
COOK’S NOTES:
Those who frequent Japanese restaurants may be familiar with ponzu sauce. It
is often labeled or called a “vinegar” – or it’s just called
“ponzu sauce”, and is a mixture of soy sauce and rice vinegar, often
with citrus juice (lemon or citron) added as well. It is lighter and more “sparkling”
in flavor than soy sauce.
Yuzu is also a vinegar (often labeled “ponzu vinegar”) ideally made
specifically with citron (the same fruit whose thick, candied peel is used in
holiday fruitcakes). Citron is a sour fruit, which has a greater depth of flavor
than lemon. Sometimes yuzu, however, is made with various combinations of orange,
lemon and lime juices. When Ming Tsai refers to “yuzu” he does not
mean the ponzu sauce which is brown from its soy sauce ingredient – he
means a light yellow-green colored ponzu, that may not say “yuzu”
on the label, but will say “ponzu” and “seasoned with citrus”
and which can be identified by its color (the bottle is clear glass). These
products can be found in Japanese markets, and places where Japanese food products
are sold.
Rice flour and rice wine vinegar are often available in the Asian-foods section
of your supermarket. The flour can also be found at health food and natural
food stores, and both products can be found at Asian or Japanese markets.
To clean a soft shell crab:
1. Using scissors, snip off the crabs’ eyes and mouth; scoop out the soft
material just behind this cut, and gently rinse the crab.
2. Lift the shell on each side of the body and, using your fingers or a small
knife, remove the gray gills and discard them.
3. Lift up the “apron” (the flap of shell covering the belly of the
crab) and twist or cut it off. The crab is now ready for cooking.
