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| How to Cook | | | Stir fried (Based on 1 whole crab, chopped up) | Stir Fried Crab with Ginger and Spring Onion
Time: 15 -20 minutes
Seasoning: sea salt flakes and freshly grounded black pepper to taste
Oil: grapeseed oil, 2tbsp for stir-frying
Fresh Herbs:
-ginger, 1 medium piece, finely sliced
-Chinese spring onion, 4 sprigs, cut lengthwise, bruised
Flour: potato flour, 1 cup, for deep frying
Sauce:
-fine brown sugar, 1/3 cup
-sea salt flakes and freshly grounded black pepper to taste
-Taiwan light soya sauce
-Taiwan soya paste
-chicken stock
Method:
1. Heat a wok under high heat, add 1 cup of oil, coat crab pieces with potato flour and deep fry till they turn golden. Set aside.
2. Discard the oil, use 2 tbsp grapeseed oil to sauté ginger and spring onion. Stir in deep fried crabs, adding salt and black pepper. Continue to stir for 5 to 7 minutes add the sauce cover for 2 minutes.
3. Serve hot. |
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| | | Baked (Based on 1 whole crab, chopped up) | Time: 35 minutes
Seasoning:
-whole black peppercorn, 2 tbsp, bruised
-sea salt flakes and freshly grounded black pepper to taste
Dairy: unsalted butter, 25g
Wine: white wine, 3 tbsp
Method:
1. Wrap everything in a tin foil and bake for 35 minutes under 200°C.
2. Serve with fresh lime. |
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| | | Chilled (Based on 1 whole crab, chopped up) | Time: 15 minutes
Method:
1. Steam 15 minutes. After the crab pieces cool down, chill it in the refrigerator.
2. Serve with fresh lemon or lime.
OR serve with cocktail sauce or red wine vinigette with diced shallots. |
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 | Seafood |
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Crab |
Sweet and succulent, crab sourced from the best suppliers in the world is flown in fresh.
Crabs are crustaceans with the skeleton on the outside protecting their soft, tasty flesh. There are many varieties of crab, both fresh- and salt-water, with the latter being the most plentiful. Among the most popular varieties are the common Brown crab with its sweet, succulent flesh, the Dungeness crab which can be found all the way along the Pacific coast from Canada to Mexico, and the Alaska King crab which is highly sought - after and is fished in the waters of the North Pacific. |
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| | Brown Crab | | Brown crabs are a popular edible crab that can weigh up to 3 kg and contain plenty of sweet, succulent flesh. They are found in the cold waters off the coast of Britain and Europe and are available all year round. They can reach up to 25 cm across, have heavy front claws with almost - black pincers, a brown shell and red hairy legs. | | | Dungeness Crab | | The Dungeness crab has a broad oval body covered by a hard shell and can grow up to 20 cm across. Compared to other crabs, its legs are relatively short and small in relation to its body size. The Dungeness crab is one of the meatiest crabs in the world, with the flesh (the 'meris') accounting for about a quarter of the crab's weight - most of which is found in the legs. Dungeness crabs range in colour from reddish brown to purple on top with a creamy underside. Once cooked, this crab will turn a brick red colour. | | | Alaska King Crab | | There are three types of commercial King crab (red, blue and golden) and these crabs are big - with recorded weights of up to 10 kg! Alaska King crab meat is delicately flavoured and snow-white with bright red accents (only about a quarter of the crab is actually edible but that which is, is particularly delicious.) These are highly prized crabs because they are very difficult - and dangerous - to catch. | | | Characteristics | | Crabs are sold whole (cooked or live), or in the form of cooked lump or flaked meat. The soft brown flesh from under the hard upper shell of a crab is rich and contrasts with the dense white flesh found in the claws and body. Male crabs often have larger claws and more white flesh, while females may have 'coral', a delicious red roe. Crab can be prepared in many ways, including frying, steaming, boiling and in soups and crab cakes and is just as good eaten hot as it is cold. | | | Nutrition | | Crab meat is high in protein and minerals and low in fat. | | | Shopping Tips | -When buying a live crab, look for one with a hard shell. Choose an active crab that seems particularly heavy for its size. A crab with barnacles on it shell will not have shed its shell recently so will probably be more fleshy inside.
-The safest way to pick up a crab is by its shell - beware of picking up a crab by its hind legs as they can sometimes reach around and grab your hand! As a guide, when buying crab, allow 500g per person (the weight of the entire live crab).
-If you're buying a ready-cooked crab, avoid any which do not have their legs well-drawn up against the body as this means they were dead when they were cooked and probably not too fresh. | | | Storing Tips | | Live crabs should be kept in a cool damp environment and cooked on the day they are purchased. Don't keep your crabs in fresh water– they need oxygenated salt water to survive! You can also freeze cooked crab and use it within three months. | | | Preparation | Live crabs are simple to cook – the most humane way is to put your crab in the freezer for a couple of hours before you want to cook it (crabs are used to living in cold seas so this is not uncomfortable). It will be chilled to unconsciousness when you want to cook it. Plunge the crab into very salty boiling water and bring back to the boil. Simmer for 15 minutes for the first 500g
plus 10 minutes for every subsequent 500g.
After cooking, immerse the crab in cold water and clean. Internal organs, including the grey gills (also known as "dead man's fingers") and small stomach sac behind the crab's mouth, should not be eaten as they can contain fatal toxins - so be sure to remove under a heavy stream of cold water. | | | Wine Pairing Suggestion | -Caymus Conundrum 2003
Item no: 090500181
-Hunter's Chardonnay 2006
Item no: 090600052
-Luigi Cecchi Vernaccia Grimignano 2006
Item no: 300294411 |
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