Baked Stuffed Crab Shells Recipe
 The Vietnamese have modified this
French-inspired dish their own with a combination of bean thread noodles
and cloud ear mushrooms. And since it is time consuming to cook the crabs
myself, I will usually use freshly cooked crab meat from the fishmonger or
supermarket. This is a great dish to prepare when having guests in the
house as it is served in a unique way.
Ingredients: (Serves 4)
25 g/1 oz dried bean thread (cellophane)
noodles
6 dried cloud ear (wood ear) mushrooms
450 g/1 lb fresh crab meat
15 ml/1 tablespoon vegetable oil
10 ml/2 teaspoons
nuoc mam
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2.5 cm/1 in fresh root ginger, peeled and
grated
1 small bunch coriander (cilantro), stalks
removed, leaves chopped
1 egg, beaten
25 g/1 oz/2 tablespoons butter
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Fresh dill fronds, to garnish
Nuoc cham, to serve
Method:
1.
Preheat the oven to 180oC/350oF/Gas 4. Soak the bean thread noodles and
cloud ear mushrooms separately in bowls of lukewarm water for 15 minutes.
Squeeze them dry and chop finely.
2. In a
bowl, mix together the noodles and mushrooms with the crab meat. Add the
oil, nuoc mam, shallots, garlic, ginger and coriander. Season, then stir
in the beaten egg.
3. Spoon
the mixture into four small crab shells or use individual ovenproof
dishes, packing it in tightly, and dot the top of each one with a little
butter. Place the shells on a baking tray and cook for about 20 minutes,
or until the tops are nicely browned.
4.
Garnish with dill the serve immediately with a little nuoc cham to drizzle
over the top.
Happy Cooking,
Carol |
