Curry and the Decapod
A decapod? Here are a few questions to tease your brain…
What decapod:
1) Was the first on the North Pacific Coast to be fished commercially?
2) Resides in the ocean from the Alaskan Aleutian Islands to about Monterrey, California?
3) Is a culinary jewel of a town in Washington state on the Olympic Peninsula?
4) Is unlawful to keep if it is a female?
OK, once you think you’ve guessed it, another question. What percentage of this decapod’s body is edible meat?
The season for this shell fish opens around mid-November and lasts until about May. It’s said the best eating is December through February so you’d better get busy cooking and eating!
With a bottle of wine I’d been wanting to try, and this particular creature on my brain, I came up with a dish, which paired delightfully.
Here’s how it went...
I cut up my vegetables and gathered the other ingredients needed.
I used coconut oil and heated it up in a frying pan over medium heat (you can also use ghee or canola oil if you want).
The onions went in the pan next and I cooked them until they were softened.
I used a Thai green curry paste, added it to the pan and cooked it for about 30 seconds while stirring. Home made vegetable stock went in (you could also use chicken stock), fish sauce, sugar and lemon grass in 2-inch pieces that I bruised with the back of my knife.
I brought this mixture to a boil, then turned the heat down to medium and let it cook uncovered for about 8 minutes or so.
Added lite coconut milk and small cauliflower floretes and cooked it a little longer on low.
While this was cooking, I quickly picked the meat from the crab and added it to the pan.
Stirred in the peas and cilantro then tasted the mixture. The ever so slight bit of heat was just what I wanted.
I made some sticky rice (I love sticky rice), and pressed enough into a 2-inch round entremet ring to get the rice an inch high, then pulled the ring up and off. On this rice mound I spooned the crab. I’d kept some peas aside and sprinkled them on top. And I picked cauliflower floretes out of the curry and arranged them around the rice mound. Finally, I topped it off with a large piece of crab meat and cilantro.
Dungeness Crab Curry
1 whole Dungeness crab
about 1 tablespoon ghee, coconut oil or canola oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons green curry paste (I used Thai-style)
1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 to 2 tablespoons sugar, agave nectar or honey
1 stalk lemon grass, cut into 2-inch pieces, bruised
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup cauliflower, cut into bite-sized floretes
1/2 cup peas (frozen are fine)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Cilantro sprigs, for garnish