**Tempura of Soft-Shell Crabs: A Delectable Treat for Seafood Enthusiasts**
Indulge in the exquisite flavors of tempura-fried soft-shell crabs, a culinary delight that tantalizes the taste buds with its crispy texture and succulent seafood filling. This article presents a collection of meticulously crafted recipes that guide you through the art of preparing this delectable dish. Embark on a culinary journey as we explore the secrets of achieving that perfect golden-brown crust while preserving the delicate sweetness of the soft-shell crabs. From selecting the freshest ingredients to mastering the art of dipping and frying, these recipes provide step-by-step instructions to ensure a successful and satisfying cooking experience. Whether you prefer a classic tempura batter or a more adventurous variation infused with herbs and spices, this article has something for every palate. Get ready to elevate your seafood game and impress your dinner guests with this extraordinary culinary creation.
TEMPURA SOFT SHELL CRAB AND ASPARAGUS WITH YUZU-MAUI ONION SALAD
Steps:
- In a large bowl, mix flour, chile powder and sesame seeds. Whisk in soda water until a pancake batter consistency is achieved. In one hand, grab one crab, 3 asparagus and 2 onions rings and completely coat in the batter. Lightly drop in 350 degree oil and fry for 4 to 5 minutes until golden brown. Season with salt and drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining crabs, asparagus and onion.
- In a food processor, puree everything together until smooth. Check for seasoning. Toss the salad lightly with the vinaigrette.
- PLATING On a large plate, drizzle some remaining vinaigrette. Place a small mound of salad and top with the tempura crab sliced in half.
PAN SEARED WILD ROCKFISH AND SOFT SHELL CRAB TEMPURA WITH GINGER AND YUZU GLAZE, CUCUMBER AND TOASTED NORI
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a deep saucepan, heat canola oil to 375 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, toss cucumbers with rice vinegar, set aside.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine about 1 tablespoon canola oil and the ginger. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add heavy cream and lime juice, boil until reduced by half. Fold in crabmeat, season mixture with salt, set aside.
- Place flour on a plate. Season the rockfish with salt and lightly dredge in flour, shaking off the excess.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat about 1 tablespoon canola oil. Add rockfish, skin side down, just until skin is crisp, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook to brown other side, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove fillets to a cutting board, cut fillets in half horizontally. Top half the pieces with the crab mixture and sandwich back together. Wrap portions individually in waxed or parchment paper.
- Place on a baking sheet and bake until fish is cooked through and crab stuffing is hot, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, dip crabs in Tempura Batter and fry until lightly brown and crispy, about 3 minutes, drain quickly on paper towel and cut in half.
- To serve: On the bottom of the plate, place a few cucumber slices. Drizzle with Yuzu Glaze. Remove rockfish from waxed paper and sprinkle sides with some of the Nori Flakes. Place rockfish over cucumber, plate soft shell crab next to fish. Sprinkle with scallions and chilies. Sprinkle with remaining Nori Flakes and stick a Toasted Nori Triangle in each crab half.
- In a medium stainless steel bowl, whisk together rice flour, cornstarch, salt and ginger. Whisk in club soda. Refrigerate or keep this batter on ice until ready to fry. You may need to whisk in additional flour or water to adjust the batter if it stands.
- In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine ginger, orange juice, yuzu juice, soy sauce and chili garlic paste. Bring to a simmer.
- Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine sugar and the 1 tablespoon water. Cook, without stirring, until the mixture turns a dark amber color, about 5 to 10 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally to prevent burning.
- When the sugar reaches the desired color, carefully whisk in the simmering yuzu mixture. Return to a simmer. Whisk the cornstarch with enough water to form a smooth slurry. Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the yuzu mixture a little at a time, letting it return to a boil between additions, until the mixture has thickened to a glaze. You may not need all of the cornstarch.
- Tear nori into small pieces. Grind to a fine powder in batches in a coffee or spice grinder.
- Using a sharp knife cut to cut nori into 12 small triangles.
- In a medium skillet over medium heat, add sesame oil. Add triangles, cook, turning once, until crisped and shiny on both sides, about 30 seconds to 1 minute per side. Drain on paper towels.
TEMPURA-FRIED SOFT-SHELL CRAB SANDWICHES WITH TARTAR SAUCE SLAW AND CRISPY OLD BAY CHIPS
Steps:
- For the tartar sauce slaw: Whisk together the cornichons, mayonnaise, capers, mustard, sugar, lemon juice, onion and some salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the cabbage and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- For the Old Bay potato chips: Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Spread the potato chips in an even layer on a baking sheet and bake, just to warm, 2 minutes. Put the Old Bay in a small mesh strainer and tap evenly over the chips; toss the chips lightly.
- For the soft-shell crabs: Set a rack in a baking sheet. Heat 3 to 4 inches of oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat until it registers 375 degrees F on a deep-frying thermometer. Whisk together 2 cups of the rice flour and 2 cups water until smooth, then season with salt and pepper and some hot sauce if using.
- Put the remaining 1 cup rice flour in a shallow dish and season with some salt and pepper. Sprinkle the crabs with salt and pepper.
- Dredge 2 crabs in flour and tap off the excess. Dip in the tempura batter, letting any excess run off. Fry until golden brown, crispy and just cooked through, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain on the rack. Repeat with the remaining 2 crabs.
- For the sandwiches: Put some of the slaw on the bottom of each bun and top with a fried crab. Add a bit more slaw and a tomato slice and top with chips. Close sandwiches with the tops of the buns and serve immediately.
TEMPURA SOFTSHELL CRABS WITH ASIAN SALAD AND CITRUS GASTRIQUE
Provided by Emeril Lagasse
Yield 2 servings
Number Of Ingredients 32
Steps:
- For the softshells: To clean, remove the tail, gills, and eyes. Season with salt and pepper. For the tempura batter: Whisk all the ingredients resulting in a smooth batter. Season with salt and pepper. Dip the softshell into the tempura batter, shaking off any excess. Remove the basket from the fryer.
- First, carefully holding the top of the softshell, drag the legs through the oil first, for 1 minute. This will allow the individual legs to fry separately instead together. Then lay the softshell, top side down, into the oil. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden, flip the softshell over and continue frying for additional 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the fryer and allow to drain on a paper-lined plate.
- To assemble, toss the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Mound the salad in the center of the platter. Arrange the softshell around the salad. Drizzle the gastrique over the entire platter. Garnish with the chopped peanuts, chopped chives, Essence, and long chives.
- Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.
- Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch. Published by William and Morrow, 1993.
SOFT SHELL CRAB WITH TEMPURA BATTER AND DIPPING SAUCES
Steps:
- For Tempura Batter: Whisk together ingredients. Can be used for up to 1 hour. Keep cold!
- For Crabs: Heat 1/4-inch of corn or peanut oil in a heavy skillet until very hot but not smoking. Fry the crabs in batches for about 2 minutes on the first side, then turn and fry for another minute. The crust should be golden. Be prepared the crabs will split when you fry them; a splatter screen will come in handy.
- Drain on paper towels and serve with dipping sauces.
- For Balsamic Syrup: Put all ingredients together and reduce over medium heat, down to 1/4 of its liquid. Strain and discard onion.
- For Red Pepper Syrup: Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Reduce down to 3/4 of a cup. Thicken with the arrowroot.
- For Wasabi Cream: Dissolve Wasabi in water. Whisk in creme fraiche and lemon juice. Season with salt.
TEMPURA OF SOFT-SHELL CRABS
Steps:
- Lay crabs backside down on a cutting board, and cut in half lengthwise, so that each half has a claw.
- Stir about 1 1/4 cups water into the flour to make a smooth, thick batter. Add baking soda and ice cubes.
- Pour enough oil into a deep pot to fill it halfway, and heat to 375 degrees. (To test, carefully sprinkle a drop or two of water into the pot. If the oil rumbles, it's not hot enough. If it crackles, it is.)
- Dip crab pieces, four at a time, into batter, and immediately drop into hot oil. Stir after several seconds to separate the pieces, then cook until golden brown, 30 to 45 seconds. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining crab pieces. Salt to taste, and serve immediately.
TEMPURA SOFT-SHELL CRAB
From Coastal Living. Meant to be served with crab dipping sauce and asian slaw. I do not use whole crabs, I make this in a kind of "crab cake" like patty by just using lump crab meat and battering that and then frying. But if you do this, make sure you fry the meat for less time than the crabs. I also cut this down, the only tricky part is the egg yolk. I just save the white, and then use what I estimate to be 1/4 of the egg yolk, then scramble the remainder to give to my dogs, or course you could throw it away too! :D I also often leave out the asian pear. If you decide to make the trio, make the slaw first since it has to chill 2 hours.
Provided by SarahBeth
Categories Crab
Time 1h
Yield 8 crabs, 4 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- Pour oil to a depth of 1 inch into a large Dutch oven, and heat to 350°.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt.
- Stir yolk into soda water in a 2-cup measure until blended; pour over flour mixture, and, using a large fork, gently combine (the batter should remain slightly lumpy and should have the consistency of heavy cream).
- Dip 2 crabs into batter, letting excess batter drip back into bowl, and carefully slip into the hot oil, top-side down. Fry 1 1/2 minutes per side, until golden brown and crisp. Drain on paper towels, then transfer to a baking sheet, and keep warm in a 200° oven. Repeat with remaining oil and crabs.
- Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and serve with Asian Slaw and Crab Dipping Sauce.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 236.2, Fat 2, SaturatedFat 0.6, Cholesterol 85.2, Sodium 577.7, Carbohydrate 40.3, Fiber 0.9, Sugar 0.2, Protein 12.5
Tips:
- Use fresh, soft-shell crabs for the best results. Look for crabs that are bright orange or red in color and have a firm texture.
- Clean the crabs thoroughly before cooking. Rinse them under cold water and remove any dirt or debris. You can also remove the claws if desired.
- Make sure the tempura batter is cold before frying the crabs. This will help the batter to adhere to the crabs and prevent it from becoming too thick.
- Use a deep fryer or a large saucepan filled with oil to fry the crabs. The oil should be heated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Fry the crabs in small batches to prevent them from sticking together. Cook them for 2-3 minutes, or until they are golden brown and crispy.
- Drain the crabs on paper towels to remove any excess oil.
Conclusion:
Tempura of soft-shell crabs is a delicious and easy-to-make dish that is perfect for any occasion. The crabs are tender and flavorful, and the tempura batter is light and crispy. Serve the crabs with your favorite dipping sauce, such as soy sauce, ponzu sauce, or tartar sauce.
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