How to cook a blue swimmer crab and two beautiful preparations

My hubby and I went to our first cooking class at the Sydney Fish Markets, many, many moons ago.  The lesson still remains one of the most interesting and useful classes we have attended. 

Today I show you how you clean a Blue Swimmer Crab and then two Asian style preparations to make this at home. Blue Swimmer Crab is widely available from your local seafood shop.  It has a sweet flavour. The Blue Swimmer Crab is already dead when it is at the fish markets. Look for crabs where all the legs are in tact and the shell is glossy.

I'll start with how to clean and prep the crab - step by step. It's being demonstrated by my hubby in case you were wondering ;)

1. Place the cab so this side faces you.  The male cabs will have the "V" shape flap you can see above.  A female will have a "U" shape flap.  Ensure you use the male variety for sustainability reasons, where possible.

2. Lift the flap and remove the "head" or outer shell.

3.  Remove the "guts". You may wish to use a paper towel to assist you clean at this stage.  Do not wash the crab in an attempt to clean it though, because you will wash all the flavour away! 



4. The cleaned crab will something like this: 



5. Cut the crab in half. Then cut a further half. This will lead to a large claw with a small claw and the second portion will have two smaller claws.

6. Cut so the large claw and smaller claw are now seperated.  Cut the two smaller claws in half.

7. For the large claw, using a device (which looks similar to a nut cracker but used specifically for crabs), make small cracks to the shell.  This ensures when it is cooking the flavours are able to seep through.

Now the crab is prepped and ready you can start the cooking!  

I have shown you below two beautiful preparations you can make. Try one, or as we like, make both and eat with a steaming pot of rice.

Each preparation serves three.   

   

Singaporean Chilli Crab 

Ingredients:

3 cleaned blue swimmer crabs

3 tbsp peanut oil

3 cloves garlic, chopped finely

2 birds eye chilli, chopped finely

small knob of grated ginger, minced

1 tsp shrimp paste

1 tsp cornflour

1 cup fish stock

160 ml tomato ketchup (must be ketchup not sauce as ketchup is a thicker variety)

160 ml sweet chilli sauce (I like to use the Ayam brand)

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp shao xing (Chinese cooking wine)

3 spring onions, slice diagonally 

1 egg lightly beaten 

corriander leaves to garnish 

Method: 

1. Heat wok over high heat.
2. Once hot add the garlic, chilli, ginger and shrimp paste. Fry for less than one minute. This should be very aromatic.
3. Add the crabs and stir fry until majority of the shells turn from blue to orange.
4. In a separate container dissolve the cornflour in the fish stock, add the tomato ketchup, sweet chilli sauce, shao xing and fish sauce. 
5. Add to to the wok with the spring onions.
6. Reduce heat and stir the crab to ensure it is being coated in the sauce.
7. The crab will be cooked all the shells turn from blue to orange and the crab meat turns from translucent to opaque.  
8. Remove from the heat. Move the crab to one side of the wok. Slowly add the beaten egg by drizzling directly onto the sauce.  You want to create threads of egg through the sauce.
9. Garnish with coriander leaves. 

Salt and Pepper Crab

Ingredients:

• 3 cleaned blue swimmer crabs
• 1/4 cup peanut oil
• 3 cloves of garlic
• small knob of ginger, minced
• 1/2 stem of the lemongrass (I like to use a combination of the base and upper part)
• rock salt (to taste)
• 3 tsp white peppercorns, crushed in a motor and pestle
• 2-3 spring onions
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 50 ml shao xing (Chinese cooking wine)
• coriander leaves to garnish 

Method:

1. Heat oil, add the garlic, ginger, lemongrass, salt and pepper and the crab.
2. Stir until the crab is coated in all the ingredients then cook over a medium heat for 2-3 mins.
3. Add the sugar, Chinese wine, and spring onions and stir through.
4. Continue to cook until the shells turn from blue to orange and the crab meat turns from translucent to opaque.  
5. Garnish with coriander leaves. 













Moroccan Style Preserved Lemon and Chicken Tagine

Hi Guys! 

I must start by saying wow has it really been over three months since I updated this blog? Time seems to fly! I must apologise for the delay but I do have an excuse… Promise! I just got married to the man of my dreams and we had an amazing honeymoon in Bali!

But as things settle back to normality I have time to share with you all the amazing food experiences I have been lucky enough to have. Let me assure you, you are all in for a treat! I will share with you the recipes and experiences from my cooking class at a brilliant French patisserie, a number of new and tested dishes, a cooking class at an authentic Balinese restaurant in the heart of Bali's cultural capital Ubud and visits to a number of quirky new cafes and restaurants that are opening up right on our door step. I want to share all these experiences with you and hopefully inspire you to love food as much as I do!

I wanted to start of my entries with a dish my husband and I absolutely love - the preserved lemon and chicken tagine. One of the things that really set apart this dish is how mouth-wateringly tender the chicken comes. This coupled with ingredients such as preserved lemons packs an oomph of flavour.

Two things I should mention with this dish. One is if you can, buy a tagine. For those that are not sure what this is, a tagine has a flat and round base with low sides and a large cone shaped lid that sits over the base during cooking. 

The second is preserved lemons. In my blog post all the way back in November, I made preserved lemons. They are super easy to make and the richness it will add, especially to your Middle Eastern dishes are well worth the effort. Off course you should be able to buy preserved lemons at any gourmet delicatessen.

Okay so let's get to it! I hope you guys enjoy this dish as much as we do. Warning though, it’s absolutely addictive! 

This dish serves four to five. 

Preserved Lemon and Chicken Tagine 

Ingredients: 

Marinade:

• 2 garlic cloves, chopped 
• small knob of ginger 
• ½ preserved lemon, rind only, rinsed and finely sliced 
• 2 onions, chopped 
• 1 small red chilli 
• 1 tbsp sweet paprika 
• 1 tbsp ground cumin 
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander 
• 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley 
• 2 bay leaves, torn in half 
• ½ tsp saffron threads, soaked in a little water 
• 125 ml olive oil 
• salt 

For the Tagine 

• 6 -7 chicken thigh fillets 
• 2 tomatoes, 1 chopped, 1 sliced 
• 2 onions, 1 chopped, 1 sliced 
• 2 large potatoes, cut into wedges 
• 150 g pitted green olives 
• 1 bunch coriander, chopped 
• 250 ml water 
• 1 preserved lemon, rinsed and cut into 6 or 8 wedges

Method: 

1. Combine the marinade ingredients in a food processor and blend until finely chopped and thoroughly combined. Leave the flavours to infuse for about 20 minutes to half an hour. 
2. Using half the marinade coat the chicken pieces 
3. Combine the chopped tomato and onion with a little of the remaining marinade and spread over the base of a tagine (this will prevent the chicken from burning on the bottom). 
4. Arrange the chicken pieces in the tagine. 
5. Coat the potato wedges in a little of the remaining marinade and arrange around the chicken. 
6. Top with the sliced onion, then the sliced tomato, and push the olives into the gaps. 
7. Combine the remaining marinade with the coriander and water and pour over the top. Decorate with preserved lemon wedges.
8. Cover the tagine with the lid and cook over a low heat for 45 minutes to one hour. Once the chicken is cooked serve to guests in the tagine.

Below I have showed you the tagine arranged before cooking and what it will look like after! The smell of this dish cooking in your kitchen is absolutely divine.

While this dish is magnificent in itself you can add a few side dishes that will really complete the meal.

Cous Cous with herb, lemon and almonds

Cous Cous is very simple to make and pairs beautifully with this dish. 

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 2 cups chicken stokc
• 1 1/2 cups cous cous
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp grated lemon zest
• 1/2 bunch chives, roughly chopped

Method:

1. Put the almonds on the stove and roast for about 3 minutes. Do not add oil. Toasting the almonds releases its natural oils
2. Pour stock into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Turn of the heat. Add the cous cous. Stand until the cous cous has absorbed all the stock.
3. Add the oil, lemon juice and lemon zest and using a fork fluff the grains.
4. Add the almonds and chives and serve.

Tomato and olive salad

Ingredients 

• 3 ripe tomatoes
• 1 red onion
• 2 tbps chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup green olives
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Method:

1. Arrange the tomato and onions on a plate and scatter the parsley and olives.
2. Drizzle the red wine and olive oil.
3. Add salt and pepper to taste.

There you have it a completed Morrocan Feast! Enjoy :)

Cinnamon Cookies

It's the time of the year to get into the festive spirit! There is nothing better than the smell of homemade cookies baking away in the oven. 

This is a twist to the usual gingerbread recipe, but offcourse you can make it into gingerbread by simply adding 2 teaspoons of ground ginger.  The maple syrup also gives it a subtle nutty flavour compared to using golden syrup.

Don't forget to use Christmas shape cookie cutters to make it look that little bit extra special!

Ingredients:

125g butter (softened)

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 1/2 cups plain flour

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 tablespoon ground ginger

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

cachous, to decorate as desired

Method:
1. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the maple syrup and egg. Beat to combine.
2. Sift flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and cinnamon over butter mixture and using a dough hook combine until a soft dough forms (you can also knead it by hand until a soft dough forms). Shape into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hor or until firm.
3.  Preheat oven to 180°C. Roll dough between 2 sheets of baking paper and using your Christmas shaped cutters, cut shapes from the dough. Place, 2cm apart, on prepared trays.
4.  Bake 1 tray at a time for 20 minutes, or until just firm to touch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
5.  Decorate with cachous to add that extra touch and most importantly ENJOY!   

Est.

My fiancé took me to Est. for my birthday last Saturday. I was blown away by the restaurant.

For those that may not be familiar with Est, it is a 3 hated restaurant located above Establishment.  The head chef is Peter Doyle, who by many is considered one of Australia’s most prominent chefs of Australian modern cuisine.

The restaurant is decorated with muted tones of cream, opulent lounges and large Greek style pillars surrounding the tables.

Unlike most hated restaurants the staff are welcoming and attentive.

The restaurant offers an extensive list of wine. So much so in fact, that you get an entire thick book, filled with pages and pages of exquisite wines from places far and wide. 

We opted for the degustation menu, although a la carte is also available.

The dishes were simply amazing. Peter Doyle is able to create flavours that stay true to the freshness of the produce but makes it taste that extra bit special.

The broths that the seafood floats in are filled with intricate flavours that dance on the tongue.  Whilst I am not a usual fan of white fish, I found myself eating every last skerrick. The fish was moist and the broth light and refreshing.  

One of my favourites was the roasted duck Foie Gras. The pate was rich and creamy and paired well with the sweetness of the rhubarb sauce (which in itself is an unusual ingredient to include in a main).

The desserts were decadent and rich and an amazing way to finish of the meal. Have a look at that soufflé (see picture below)! It had risen beautifully and the texture was soft and light.

It took us about three hours to eat our way through the degustation menu, which was the perfect amount of time to savour each dish, whilst giving you plenty of time before the next dish was presented.

It was a very memorable evening, full of amazing company, food and drinks!

I’ve included some pictures so you can see the quality of the food!

Fruit Juices

As summer looms it's a perfect time to dust out that juicer and try a healthy drink to kick start your day.  I've provided a recipe, (it's nothing fancy) but hopefully it gets you thinking aboout all the amazing fruit and vegetables in season.

I've juiced 5 small sized carrots, 1 celery bunch, 1 apple (for sweetness), a knob of ginger and fresh apple mint.

Delicious!

Don't forget you can just juice the ordinary juices like orange juice too.  The thick, luscious consistency is oh so different to that which you find in a bottle.

 

Salt with a Twist

Next time you reach for the salt and pepper, think about adding a flavour twist that is sure to cause a tastebud sensation.

The first is chilli salt.  For those that like things hot, chilli salt adds that extra kick.  To make simply add 1 part chilli pieces (not powder) to 3 parts sea salt. Dry roast on the stove pot until the aroma develops.  Take it of the heat and grind using a motor and pestle.  The salt should become a pale red colour.

The second is sichuan salt and pepper. Sichuan creates a lovely tingling sensation on the tongue and is fantastic in Chinese dishes.  To make simply add 1 part sichuan to 3 parts sea salt.  Dry roast on the stove pot until the aroma develops.  Take it of the heat and grind using a motor and pestle. The salt should become a light brown colour. It will have the most amazing aroma.

Keep both salts in an air tight container. 

Note: It is very important you use sea salt and not the ordinary table salt for these recipes.





Preserved Lemons

It's a great time to start preserving lemons, to be able to be used in the upcoming weeks. Preserved lemons can be used for a number of different dishes from cous cous, to roast chicken and ofcourse an addition to a Morrocan style tagine.  The best thing about this recipe is it is both easy and attractive to keep in the kitchen.

To start using a mortar and pestle, ground sea salt with a handful of cummin seeds and corriander seeds.

Throughly wash each lemon and pat dry (you want to remove the waxy coating). Then cut each lemon into quarters, ensuring you do not go completely through and the lemon remains intact.

Stuff the salt mixture into the crevices of the lemons.

Push the lemons into a sterilised jar.  Ensure the jar is airtight.  In the jar add 2 cinnamon sticks and 3-4 dried bay leaves. Pour the juice of an additional three lemons and cover with olive oil.  When labelling don't forget to put the date, because preserved lemons should be stored in a dark area of your kitchen for at least 6-8 weeks.  They can then be used for up to two years.   In the upcoming weeks I will show you some recipes of how to use these delightful little lemons.