Crab Singapore via Seattle … mighty mustard seed, clever cleaver, and more - includes recipes, brief articles on cleavers and wine with crab

Sunset, Jan, 1994 by Jerry Anne Di Vecchio

Even though live tanks in supermarkets and fish markets keep Dungeness crab available year-round, this month's abundance and quality demand attention.

Right now, recently molted Dungeness crab are packed with a new growth of sweet meat, and the catch is in full swing from Alaska to central California. I find Dungeness, in its prime, to be a superb value, and I always cook it myself for some very good reasons: (1) Fresh-cooked crab tastes best. Commercially cooked crab is often overcooked and oversalted. (2) Time is crab's enemy. In hours the quality slides from superlative to acceptable, and after a day or so, right on down to smelly. (3) Crab is easy to cook and done in 20 minutes or less. (4) I love the golden crab "butter" (which contains what little fat the crab stores) and the creamy white "fat" (actually a delicate protein rather like egg white) that you get only when you cook and clean your own crab.

Unquestionably, fresh-cooked Dungeness crab, warm or cool, stands on its own with little more than a squeeze of lemon juice (chilling on ice, although popular, cuts the flavor). However, this crab is no shrinking violet around bold flavors; it holds its own magnificently with pronounced seasonings, from cioppino to the wonderful, potent crab Singapore that senior writer Linda Lau Anusasananan discovered at Wild Ginger Asian Restaurant and Satay Bar in Seattle.

Here, Ann and Rick Yoder present classic dishes from Southeast Asia and China in a contemporary setting that includes a tank of live Dungeness crab. Chef Jeem Han Lock insists that these Western shellfish be kicking when he pulls them out to use. (I also demand a demonstration of liveliness before I buy crab; avoid those that dangle their legs listlessly when fetched for inspection.)

At Wild Ginger, tiny, explosively hot Thai chilies go into Lock's Singapore sauce. However, you can use any chili that suits your heat tolerance--Fresno and jalapeno chilies measure medium-hot. Salted fermented black beans, a standard condiment in Chinese markets and many supermarkets, contribute a complex pungency to the dish.

Lock serves crab Singapore with hot cooked rice and stir-fried bok choy splashed with garlic oil.

BACK TO BASICS

From Live to cracked crab

If you're squeamish or terribly pressed for time, a fresh-cooked and cleaned market crab is a fair trade-off. But if it was cooked the day before, rinse it before using.

You will be most rewarded if you cook your own. Once you get the crab home, you can keep it loosely covered in the refrigerator up to 12 hours; longer is risky because when a crab dies, it almost instantly begins to deteriorate and get stinky.

First, select a pan by putting the live crab in it to check fit. Take the crab out of the pan and fill it with enough water to cover the crab by 2 or 3 inches. I generally cook no more than six crab at a time in a pan because they cool the water down so much that cooking time is hard to judge, and any more than six makes the pan too heavy for me to lift.

Cover the pan and bring water to boiling over high heat. Do not salt the water; crab is naturally salted.

Grasp crab from the back, between the legs (1); plunge it headfirst into water and cover pan. If you're cooking more than one, add the rest quickly. Start timing the minute the last crab hits the water. It takes 15 minutes to cook a panful of crab that weigh 2 to 2 1/2 pounds each (the most common size); allow 20 minutes to cook larger crab (3-lb. size). When boil resumes, reduce heat to simmering. Drain crab and rinse briefly with cold water to cool enough to handle.

To clean and crack crab, pull off and discard triangular-shaped flap from belly side of crab (2). Turn crab over; pulling from rear end, lift top shell up and free (3). Drain and discard liquid back shell. Scoop soft golden crab butter and white crab fat from the shell into a small bowl (4). Save to eat by the spoonful with crab or to stir into a dipping sauce. Break bony section (mouth) from front side of shell and discard. Rinse back shell well and let drain.

On the body section, lift off and discard reddish membrane that covers the center (5). Sometimes it comes off with the back. Also pull out and discard anything else that's loose, except the golden butter; put it into the bowl. Pull off and discard spongy gills on body. Rinse body with cool water.

Break legs from body (6); with a nutcracker or hammer, slightly crack the shell of each leg and claw section (7). With a knife, cut the body into quarters (8).

Serve warm or cool; to chill, cover crab, back shell, and crab butter mixture and refrigerate. For finest flavor, serve within 6 hours; you can get by with 24 hours.

The handiest picking tool is built in; use the tip of the crab legs to pull meat from the shells. Enjoy crab plain or season with lemon juice, melted butter, or mayonnaise mixed with enough Dijon mustard to give it a little bite and enough lemon juice to add tang. A 2- to 3-pound crab makes 1 or 2 servings.

Per serving plain crab: 111 cal. (15 percent from fat); 22 g protein; 1.9 g fat (0.2 g sat.); 0 g carbo; 303 mg sodium; 109 mg chol.