Storm clouds are gathering over my kitchen as hurricane Sandy bears down on us here on the East End of Long Island. <gulp!> You might think that soft shell crabs are a strange thing to make right before a hurricane. But then consider what I’m making for dinner tonight if the power doesn’t go out: a whole brined turkey sous vide. I’ll let you know how that turns out in a day or so.
On my last trip out before the storm I swung by my local fish market to pick up some last minute seafood. Cor-J’s sits right on Shinnecock Bay, and they were severely flooded last year during hurricane Irene. And it could be a lot worse for them this time. But, as I selected some yellow fin tuna, some sock eye salmon, and a filet of striped bass, I noticed a bunch of live soft shell crabs nestled in seaweed. If you’ve read my earlier posts about soft shell crabs, you know how much I like them. Interestingly, the other gourmaniac isn’t a big fan of them; for that matter my entire crew can take them or leave them. As I picked up a couple of “whales”, I was thinking that I wanted a different batter besides flour and egg or Wondra, and I was already thinking about a spicy sweet and sour sauce to go along with them.
Here’s what I did with my soft shell crabs.
Ingredients:
For the batter:
2/3 cup rice flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp curry
2 tsp tikka masala (available on line or in an Indian spice shop)
1 tsp vindaloo (available on line or in an Indian spice shop)
½ tsp sea salt
½ fresh ground pepper
enough water to make a batter the consistency of pancake batter appox 1 1/2 cup
at least 1 cup canola oil; more depending upon pan
For the sweet and sour gelée: (inspired by Jean George Vongerichten)
1 red sweet pepper, cored and seeded, and coarsely chopped
½ cup red wine vinegar
4 Tbsp Shaoxing wine (Chinese cooking wine) – can substitute with sherry
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp white wine
4 Tbsp honey
4 Tbsp brown sugar
4 Thai bird chilies seeded and coarsely chopped
4 whole cloves
1 tsp agar-agar –available in good Asian market (can substitute 2 tsp powered gelatin)
Method:
For the gelée:
Place everything except the agar-agar in a 2 quart sauce pan, bring to a boil and simmer for a minute or two, making sure the sugar dissolves. Off heat, and pour everything into a blender and puree for a minute or until finely pureed. Was sauce pan and return puree to it. Heat over low flame and skim off the foam on the surface. Add the agar-agar and stir until dissolved. Off heat and pour into a metal, non reactive bowl. Place the bowl either in the freezer or over a larger bowl containing ice cubes and water. The gelée is ready when it is thick like jam. Keeps in the freezer for a couple of months, well sealed.
The soft shell crabs:
Either clean the crabs or have your fishmonger do it for you. Pat them dry. Take all the dry ingredients for the batter, above, and place them in a bowl. Add the water gradually as you stir and mix with a spatula or whisk. Once you achieve the pancake batter consistency, dredge the crabs in the batter thoroughly coating them.
In a sauté pan or a wok, heat about 1 ½ inches of canola oil. Bring the oil to 350 degrees and add the crabs. Cook them about two minutes per side. Because of the vindaloo masala in the batter, the crabs are going to turn a dark orange, and because of the rice flour and cornstarch, they’re going to have a very crispy crust.
When done, remove from the pan/wok and let them drain on paper towels briefly. Plate them on some greens (like baby arugula), along with a small ramekin of the gelée, and serve immediately.
RMA
