10 crab legs or several hard shell cra, bs
1 shrimp paste, prepared as for shrim, p on sugar cane
1/4 cup vegetable oil
NUOC CHAM
1 clove garlic
1/2 fresh hot red chili pepper or 2 dri, ed
2 tsp heaping, granulated sugar
1/8 fresh lime
2 tbsp fish sauce (nuoc mam)
2 1/2 tbsp water, more if necessary
Directions
Here we have a party dish that will bring out "oohs" and "ahs" from
your guests on sight - and a repeat performance on taste.
Crab claws, alone, are sometimes available in fish stores. If they
aren't, boil several hard shell crabs and use the claws; you can use
the bodies in many other dishes.
The crab claws in fish stores are already partially peeled and serve
not only as a handle but are edible as well. If you prepare your own
claws, peel the upper section around which you mold the shrimp paste.
Boil the crab legs or crabs for about 10 minutes, then drain and cool;
remove the claws from the crabs, if using, and reserve the bodies for
another purpose.
Have the shrimp paste ready; preheat the oven to 350F.
Pour the oil into a bowl. Dip your fingers into the oil and pick up 2
tablespoons of the shrimp paste. Mold it into an oval around and
halfway down the crab claw, covering the part of the claw where it
was attached to the body; this will leave a claw tip extended to
serve as a handle. Place the claws on a baking sheet and bake in the
preheated oven for 30 minutes.
Serve with Nuoc Cham and watercress.
NOTE: In Vietnam, this dish is always barbecued over charcoal. If
you wish to prepare it this way, cook for 10 minutes on each side.
Makes 10 servings.
Here we have a party dish that will bring out "oohs" and "ahs" from
your guests on sight - and a repeat performance on taste.
Crab claws, alone, are sometimes available in fish stores. If they
aren't, boil several hard shell crabs and use the claws; you can use
the bodies in many other dishes.
The crab claws in fish stores are already partially peeled and serve
not only as a handle but are edible as well. If you prepare your own
claws, peel the upper section around which you mold the shrimp paste.
NUOC CHAM:
This exciting sauce is almost always served at Vietnamese meals, just
a Westerners serve salt and pepper. It's base is nuoc mam (bottled
fish sauce). Freshly prepared, it is a constant delight, and so
addictive to Western palettes that it will appear with meals other
than Vietnamese. To best appreciate the results of its superb
blending qualities at the table, use it sparingly at first, gradually
adding more until the result is just right for your palate.
Peel the garlic. Split the chili pepper down the center and remove
the seeds and membrane. Cut into pieces and put into a mortar,
together with the garlic and sugar. Pound into a paste. Squeeze the
lime juice into the paste, then with a small knife remove the pulp
from the lime section and add it as well. Mash this mixture and add
the fish sauce and water.
NOTE: If you find this a trifle strong at first, dilute it with an
additional 1/2 tablespoon of water.
From "The Classic Cuisine of Vietnam", Bach Ngo and Gloria Zimmerman,
Barron's, 1979.
Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; May 24 1993.
Servings: 10 servings
Cang Cua Boc Tom (Shrimp On Crab Legs) Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Crab; Fish; Seafood; Shrimp
The History of Recipes
It is possible to trace the history of written recipes far back into the far past, in truth as far back into history as the ancient Egyptians, and quite possibly further than that. Having said that, generally, these old cook books were just primitive pictorial instructions for food preparation.
The truth of the matter is, the most ancient recipe found, according to experts is a series of tablets in ancient Sumerian which show the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made anyone who tried it feel exhilarated and blissful. Later on, in The time of the roman empire 25BC a roman called Apicius wrote some scripts showing how to cook the recipes enjoyed by wealthy Romans. In his publication, he describes how the meals were separated into hors d`oeuvre, main course and afters, something we still use today. Aspicius also informs us how the Roman cooks made use of many aromatic flavours, including many that are still in use today like basil, rue and parsley. Later, in the fifteenth century, people returning from the crusades brought back a variety of foods and spices from the Middle-East, including coriander, basil and rosemary. These new spices and herbs prompted a torrent in manuscripts on cookery, many of which still exist in academic collections. During the following few hundred years, the powerful and wealthy houses strove to serve the most extravagent banquests, and as a result the best cooks and their recipes became highly prized. Even so, it wasn`t until the nineteenth century the formal cooking and recipe collections really came of age. Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Farmer in the US, dedicated the best years of their lives to collecting, trying out, and recording recipes to help cooks of their time. The arrival of television gave us TV chefs and the demand for the spin-off recipe books. Which pretty much brings us to the present day and the invention of the internet, permitting us all to search through massive numbers of recipes like the ones you can find on our site. |
We hope you enjoy this Cang Cua Boc Tom (Shrimp On Crab Legs) recipe.
