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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2009 11:49:16 GMT
The Crescent City Farmers Market posts a recipe weekly on their website. As serendipity would have it ,this weeks recipe is with coconut milk. It is from Susan Spicer,chef at Bayona,one of our finer local restaurants.
Curried Crab Pilaf with Coconut Milk Serves 4 1tlb. butter 1tlb. cooking oil 1 carrot finely chopped 1 onion finely chopped 1 tsp. minced fresh garlic 1tlb. curry powder 1/2 tsp black pepper 1 cup raw rice 1 lb. lump crab meat (or your preference,I like claw meat) 1 large tomato,peeled,seeded and diced 1 cup coconut milk 1/2 cup water 1 tsp. lime juice 1 tsp. angostura bitters 1 tsp. salt hot sauce 1/2 cup finely chopped scallion
Heat butter and oil in a 2 quart pot. Add carrot,onion and garlic;saute for 2 minutes Add curry powder and pepper and cook 2-3 minutes. Add rice, stir and saute for 2 minutes. Add tomato, coconut milk, water, lime juice, bitters, and salt; bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and cook 15 minutes. Gently fold in crab meat, cover, and cook five more minutes. When rice is done, season to taste with salt and hot sauce. Garnish with scallions. Serve immediately. A meal by itself, but may be coupled with another seafood dish.
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Post by imec on Jun 9, 2009 12:51:23 GMT
Have you tried this recipe? I like the sound of it but I'm slightly concerned that the crab seems to cook for a bit too long. I have every confidence in the chef (Bayona was one of the restaurants on my list on my last trip to NOLA but I missed it) but sometimes chef's aren't completely accurate when they put their recipes on paper. It does sound great though...
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2009 13:17:37 GMT
No, haven't tried it. I thought the same thing. I am going to the market in just a bit and will inquire. Susan or someone from her staff is usually there so maybe I can snag her.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2009 14:59:40 GMT
I checked with the market people and they agreed,must have been a typo. So,their suggestion and I concur was to add the crab meat after the 20 minute cook time. Thanks for catching that imec.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2009 16:45:32 GMT
Personally, I think that there are not enough possibilities to eat raw crab. I only ever see it as the tiny crab pieces in some papaya salads. I crunch and suck on the little claws and legs, even though there is no flesh to eat.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 10, 2009 1:35:02 GMT
Raw crab! I never knew that was eaten. How else is it served? Interesting!
I went online to try to find a version of the Spicer pilaf recipe that doesn't cook the crab for 20 minutes. Every one I found was identical to the one in the OP. I modified the recipe, but would like everyone to check it, please. Does it seem reasonable now?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2009 5:18:19 GMT
As you can probably imagine, the flavor of raw crab is much more intense, which is probably why the Thais only use small fragments -- just like the tiny dried shrimp.
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Post by happytraveller on Jun 10, 2009 6:05:13 GMT
Sounds like a really nice recipe, I might try it but what is angostura bitters?
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Post by gyro on Jun 10, 2009 6:36:48 GMT
So, 5 mins is considered too long to cook the crab ? Doesn't seem so to me, but are you saying the suggestion is the crab is simply folded in and not cooked, then the dish is served ?
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 10, 2009 6:44:52 GMT
No -- the recipe in the OP has been altered. It originally said to cook the crab with all the other ingredients, for 20 minutes. Now the crab is added in the last five minutes of cooking time.
I don't know. That's a whole pound of crab. Do you think that it would cool the other ingredients down so much that five minutes wouldn't be enough?
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Post by hwinpp on Jun 10, 2009 6:48:48 GMT
It's crab meat. It's not in the shell anymore. I think 5 minutes would be a minimum but it wouldn't take much longer than that. I've stir fried crab pieces in the shell and they really don't need much longer than that. 5 minutes can be quite some time. In the recipe the meat is added to something already boiling. With a bit of stirring and loosening up it could be about right.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 10, 2009 6:50:26 GMT
Okay, good. That was my feeling, but then I started fretting.
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Post by hwinpp on Jun 10, 2009 6:57:49 GMT
Don't fret, Bixa! Get a pair of chopsticks and taste! It won't kill ya if it's not quite done
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Post by gyro on Jun 10, 2009 7:31:19 GMT
Oh, fair play. I thought it looked odd.
But yeah, 5 mins is plenty for crab meat, like hwinpp said.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2009 11:29:20 GMT
That seems fine Bixa,thanks. When I inquired at the market yesterday (they have a tent which provides info) only one person seemed particularly interested and helpful. She went so far as to go and speak with the seafood purveyor who supplies Spicer's restaurant. She came back to me and said the woman told her it must be a typo and would suggest it be altered in the recipe posted online. I would imagine however,that they would want to communicate in some way with the chef first as it is her recipe and she's a huge PR marketing spokesperson for the market.
HT,Angostura bitters is a bitter usually alcohol liquid made with herbs or roots and used in cocktails and cooking or as a tonic. Angostura is the brand name,the other major brand is Peychaud's.
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