Giving Thanks

Most of my family made it up to Seattle for Thanksgiving this year and we decided to kick off the festivities on Wednesday night with a Dungeness Crab feast. For appetizers I served steamed edamame with sea salt and curry coconut prawns with a sriracha orange dipping sauce. For the main event I made black bean ginger dungeness crab, sticky brown rice, and a raw watermelon beet salad with fresh pomegranate seeds and a meyer lemon vinaigrette. 

Black Bean and Ginger Dungeness Crab 

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 Dungeness crabs, cleaned, shells removed, cut in half

1/2 c fermented black beans (find them in asian markets)

1 pc fresh ginger 

8 cloves of fresh garlic

1 bunch of scallions (aka green onions)

1/2 c shaoxing (chinese cooking wine)

2 T soy sauce 

2 c chicken stock (or veggie stock)

1 medium yellow onion 

cornstarch 

salt

pepper 

Method

1. Steam your crabs in salted water for 15-20 min or until done (shells will be bright red) 

2. In a saucepan add a bit of oil and saute your onion (finely diced). When your onions are almost done add in the ginger (sliced with skin on is fine) and garlic (finely chopped).

3. Next, add your fermented black beans (chopped) and deglaze pan with cooking wine. 

4. Once wine is reduced by half add stock and soy sauce. Reduce to simmer.

5. Strain sauce and put back into saucepan. Add scallions cut into 1 inch pieces. Simmer.

6. Make a cornstarch slurry to thicken your sauce. (use the standard ratio of 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to 2 cups of hot liquid). Add cornstarch into a bowl and mix with a bit of cold water and then pour into sauce. Bring sauce to a bowl to see thickness. Add more slurry if needed until you reach desired consistency. 

7. Using tongs, place each piece of crab into the saucepan and coat with sauce before adding to service platter. Continue until all crab is coated. Pour remainder of sauce over top of crab pieces. 

8. Serve immediately with steamed rice of choice. 

Pair dinner with Cold Sake and Chinese beer!!