Soft Shell Crab With Spicy Citrus Sauce

Tis the season for soft shell crabs. They are available from May for early July. The variety that is available in North America during this time is the blue crab. Mangrove crabs from Asia are also gaining popularity due to increase in demand year round - but I have never seen these delicious arthropods in Malaysia. Maybe it is catching on - I am not sure. There is only so much eating one can do in a month! (that is how long I visit home). There have been various discussions about how the crabs are treated during the whole process of molting ( there is only a 4 day window before the shell start to harden again).

I bought mine super fresh from the local seafood store. They were sold out the first time I was there. I went there again, early the next day. The guy at the store even cleaned it for me ( not that I am queasy about cleaning crabs - I have done it many times).

I fried the soft shell crabs and paired it with a spicy citrus sauce. Feel free to cut down the jalapenos if it is too much. The sauce really brightens up this dish. There is a cascade of flavours when you bite into the crabs topped with sauce - it is citrusy sweet followed by a lingering heat. It is wonderful combined with the meaty, sweet and crispy crab. Enjoy!

Crispy Soft Shell Crabs

Panko is Japanese bread crumbs that will give this dish a crispy and light coating. It is available at most Asian grocery stores.

4 soft shell crab
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 cups panko bread crumbs
2 eggs beaten - salted
peanut oil for frying

Preheat peanut oil to 350 degrees celsius ( or till the oil gets shimmery).

Lightly beat eggs with a pinch of salt in a shallow bowl and set aside. Dredge crabs in all purpose flour, then dip into the beaten egg mixture and then finally panko. Lower the crabs carefully into the hot oil. Cover with the spatter screen as the crabs will pop and sputter . Fry till golden brown on both sides ( you will have to flip them). Drain on paper towels and serve it immediately with citrus sauce.


Spicy Citrus Sauce

You will be amazed how flavorful and easy this is.

1 small shallot - minced
2 cloves of garlic - finely minced
2 tb fresh lime juice ( or lemon juice)
1 cup fresh orange juice
1 jalapeno chili - finely minced
2 tb fresh cilantro leaves
salt to taste
2 tsp sugar

Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Cook till sauce is reduced by half. You will get half a cup of sauce.

Grilled Chicken with Chimichurri

Chimicurri sauce is an Argentinian sauce that is similar to salsa verde - minus the jalapeno. This versatile and flavourful sauce can be slathered on fish or grilled/roasted meat of your choice. It does not take long to make and does not have an arm length of a list of ingredients. I have used grilled chicken breast - a cinch to make. I did not write down a recipe for it ( I keep forgetting that I have post the recipes). I sprinkled some kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and some wonderful smoked Hungarian paprika. I preheated the grill to 350 Celsius degrees and grilled the marinated chicken breasts for 20 minutes. I made the sauce while waiting for the chicken. Make this sauce - you will not regret it. Both herbs for this recipe should be loosely packed when measuring. I will definitely make this again.I think I will change it up and chop all the ingredients instead of using a blender.


Chimichurri Sauce
2 large garlic cloves - chopped
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 cup fresh flat leaf parsley
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/3 cup of olive oil
salt to taste ( I used 1 tsp of salt, start of with 1/2 tsp)
1/4 tsp cayenne

Put all the ingredients in a blender till mixture was smooth. Mixture will be thick. Pour over grilled chicken breasts.

Lettuce wraps

Lettuce wrap was the snack of choice at my friend Amy's place. Her mom would chop up whatever fresh vegetables she had in the fridge and would top it with store bought sweet chili sauce and we would devour it!

This is my take on the favourite snack. The ingredients are simple enough - some butter lettuce, julienned cucumber and jicama (sengkuang), chopped scallions, roasted peanuts, fried onions, fresh basil and mint. I wanted to use bean sprouts but it was sold out - I guess everyone was out buying bean sprouts for dinner on Friday night! I topped it with some garlicky and fiery homemade chili sauce and minced pork. You could use any other meat, seafood of your choice, sauteed tofu or grilled portobello mushrooms. Feel free to use other crunchy vegetables. One bite and the flavours will explode in your mouth, the freshness of the herbs and vegetables combined with crunchy nuts and spicy sauce..will make you crave for more :) This is great for picnics, just take lots of napkins and wet wipes, it could get a little messy. I have included the recipe for the hot sauce and minced pork. Bottled sweet chili sauce is fine too.


Sauteed Minced Pork
350 gm minced pork
1 Tb finely minced garlic
1 Tb finely minced ginger
1 Tb peanut oil
2 shallots chopped fine
2 Tb oyster sauce mixed with 1/3 cup of water
1 Tb dark soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil on medium high heat and saute garlic, ginger and shallots for 5 minutes. Add minced pork, soy sauce and oyster sauce and mix well. Cook covered till water starts to evaporate. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mixture should be dry.

Hot Sauce
1/3 cup water
2 Tb brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 cloves of garlic - finely minced
2 Tb lemon juice
1 Tb chili paste
a few sprigs of fresh cilantro - chopped

Mix water, sugar, chili paste, garlic and lemon juice and bring to boil. Add salt and turn off heat.Top with chopped cilantro.

Endive, Pear and Roquefort Salad

Every two weeks or so, I try to clean up my fridge and get rid of some long forgotten bits and pieces of vegetables, leftovers and one or two shrivelled grapes ( that often happens to me). This week I did not have much to throw out . I feel bad when I have too, I always vow not to forget what I have in the fridge but that does not work all the time. I found some leftover Roquefort cheese, 2 pears, walnuts and a lone dried up parsnip. Not bad at all, all I needed to get from the grocery store was some endive and I was set to make endive, pear and Roquefort salad. ( I had to toss out the parsnip). This salad is quick to make and tastes wonderful, the rich flavour of the Roquefort was nicely offset by the freshness of the pears.

The dressing for this salad calls for raw egg yolk. If raw egg yolk is not your thing, you could always use one tablespoon of mayonnaise instead.

Endive, Pear and Roquefort Salad

5 heads of Belgian endive
1 1/2 tb white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar
3/4 tsp Dijon mustard
1 egg yolk at room temperature
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
5 tb of olive oil
2 ripe pears - I used Bartlett pears, cored, halved and sliced
1/4 lb of Roquefort cheese
1/2 cup of roasted walnuts

In a bowl whisk salt, freshly ground black pepper, vinegar, mustard and egg yolk. Make an emulsion by slowly whisking in olive oil into the egg yolk mixture. Toss sliced pears in half of the vinaigrette and place pears on endive. Crumble cheese over salad and sprinkle with walnuts. Drizzle the balance of the vinaigrette over the salad. Serves 4.

Prawns In Sarongs

Yes, even a prawn can look good in a sarong. I absolutely love seafood..might as well call this blog Seafood and Chocolate!

This dish has amazing layers of flavours and is spicy and sweet. It is quick to prepare, except for the wrapping of the prawns with banana strips. This recipe calls for belacan (shrimp paste), a common ingredient in South East Asian cooking. It is made from fermented ground shrimp made into blocks or cakes. It has a pungent smell ( B finds it too strong but I think he is getting used to it) and is an essential ingredient in condiments, sauces and curries in Malaysia. I LOVE anything with belacan in it...Just the smell of a good block of belacan makes me drool.

I have used galangal in this recipe as well. Galangal adds a wonderful nuance to this dish. It is has a mild fragrance that is maintained throughout the cooking. It is a rhizome also known as lengkuas or blue ginger and is an essential ingredient in Malay cooking. It is available fresh or dried. I have used dried ones in this recipe.

The best "sarong" to use here would be the fragrant daun pandan (screwpine leaves). Banana leaves cut into strips works well too and that is what I have used. It adds a wonderful smoky aroma when grilling.


Prawns In A Sarong
1 lb prawns - head on
1 tbl lemon juice
1/4 cup coconut milk
2 tbl brown sugar
pandan leaves or banana leaves cut into 1 inch strips
salt and pepper

Spice Mixture:
4 - 6 shallots
5 cloves of garlic
2 candlenuts ( macadamia nuts could be used instead)
2 cm galangal
5 red chilies
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp belacan

Wash prawns and sprinkle salt, pepper and lemon juice.
Put rest of the ingredients in a blender with 1/4 cup of water and blend well. Add coconut milk and brown sugar.
Pour mixture over the prawns and marinate for 2 to 3 hours.

To Assemble:
Wrap the centre of each prawn with strip of banana leaves or daun pandan and secure with a toothpick. Grill 3 minutes on each side ( don't overcook)

Fiddleheads and Tiger Cake

This is the season for fiddleheads. I was lucky enough to get a call from a friend who wanted to know if I have ever had them. I hadn't and was eager to try them. John knows everything that one needs to know about ferns. He does research on floristic and monographic studies and cultivation of ferns and has written various books on the subject. Check him out at www.nybg.org/bsci/staf/mickel

Fiddlehead is the name of immature fronds that appear curled. The fiddlehead uncurls and grows as the fern leaves matures. Not all fiddlehead are suitable for eating, some of them are carcinogenic so don't go picking it in the wild!

John has many varieties of ferns on his property and the Fernman (as he calls himself) knows which ones are edible.

Harvest the tops and clean the papery brown scales on the fiddleheads. Put the tops in boiling water for 5 to 7 minutes and drain. I cooked the boiled fiddleheads in a bit of garlic, salt, chili flakes and olive oil. It has very delicate and mild nutty flavours.


I returned the favour and made Tiger Cake for John. I just got a hold of Alice Medrich's Bitter Sweet cookbook. This book has wonderful chocolate recipes.


Tiger Cake

This delicious cake is a self marbling cake. Don't be alarmed by the addition of white pepper, it accentuates the olive oil in the cake. You will barely taste it. This moist cake tastes better the next day. The batter will be a little runny (and yummy!).

1/2 cup natural cocoa
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup water

Whisk all ingredients and set aside.


3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups of sugar
1 cup flavourful extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp finely ground white pepper
5 large eggs
1 cup milk

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Position rack on the lower third.
Grease and flour a 10 - 12 cup bundt pan.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Beat sugar, oil, vanilla, pepper well. Add eggs one at a time. Whisk well till mixture is pale and thick. Add flour in three stages, alternately with milk.

Take out three cups of plain batter and stir in cocoa mixture. Pour the two different batters into the prepared tube pan.Pour the batters in thirds, alternately onto pan.

Bake cake for one hour or until done. Cool in a rake for 15 -20 minutes. Slide a butter knife and loosen the sides of the cake to release cake from the bundt pan. Cool cake on right side up on the rack.

Cherry Blossom Festival

B and I were at Brooklyn Botanical Gardens this past weekend to take part in the Cherry Blossom Festival. Around late April and early May, more than 40 varieties of Oriental flowering cherries make this garden one of the best cherry viewing sites in the USA. These cherry trees bloom in a dazzling mass display on the Cherry Esplanade. The blooms were unbelievable.




Parking was a little challenging but it was well worth it. There were various performances and demonstrations throughout the day. The refreshments were not too bad either.

Brooklyn Botanical Gardens
1000 Washington Avenue
Brooklyn New York
www.bbg.org
718-623-7200