Vietnamese- Style Spicy Crab with Garlic Noodles
This chile pepper gets its name from its origin. In Spanish, serrano is an adjective meaning “from the mountains” which is where it originated-in the mountains of Hildalgo, Mexico. The serrano is normally about twice as hot as Jalapeno (about 10,000 to 15,000 Scoville units). It is the second most popular chile pepper in Mexico. This chile is used mostly for salsas but can also be used in soups, sauces, chili or stews. Try these as a hotter substitute for Jalapeno.
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1-1/2 tsp. plus 1 Tbsp. salt
1-1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne
2 Dungeness crabs, cooked, cleaned, quartered, and cracked
vegetable oil for frying, plus 3 Tbsp.
10 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 pound spaghettini (thin spaghetti)
3 Tbsp. butter, at room temperature
6 small dried red chiles
2 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
4 green onions, chopped
4 serrano chiles, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1/3 cup sake or other rice wine
1 cup basil leaves, chopped
1/2 cup mint leaves, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
Instructions:
Combine the flour, 1 tsp. of salt, 1 tsp. of pepper and the cayenne in a large bowl. Pat the crab pieces dry with paper towels and toss (in batches) with the flour mixture. Remove the crab and shake off any excess flour, then set aside.
In a wok or large pot, heat 3″ of the oil to 375F. Lay out the paper towels for draining the crab and garlic. Fry the crab in batches (do not crowd wok) until golden, about 5 minutes per batch, then drain the crab on paper towels.
Using the same hot oil, fry the garlic until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Set the garlic aside and cool and discard the oil.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 Tbsp. of the salt and the spaghettini. Cook the pasta until tender to the bite, about 5-10 minutes. Drain the pasta and transfer it to a serving bowl, and toss with the butter and half of the fried garlic. Cover and put in a warm place.
Heat a wok or pot large enough to hold all the crab over high heat. Add the remaining 3 Tbsp. of oil, dried chiles and ginger. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the green onions, serrano chiles and remaining 1/2 tsp. of salt. Cook, stirring, until the onions wilt, about 1 minute. Add the sake and cook, stirring, until the sake reduces by about half. Stir in the crab and cover. Cook until the crab is heated through, about 3 minutes.
Remove the lid and cook, stirring, until any of the liquid evaporates. Stir in the basil, mint, cilantro and remaining 1/2 tsp. of pepper. Cook, stirring, until the herbs have wilted. Stir in the remaining fried garlic and transfer the crab to a warm platter and serve hot, with the garlic noodles.
Recipe from Sunset Magazine, December 2006.