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
Written cooking instructions as an idea can be found way back into ancient history, certainly as far back into history as early Egypt, and quite possibly further than that. In practice though, mostly, these early cookbooks were just very simple hieroglyphic recipes for preparing meals.
In an interesting twist, the oldest recipe in existence, according to food historians are some ancient tablets in ancient Sumerian describing the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making those who drank it feel `exhilarated, wonderful and blissful`. As we move into The time of the roman empire around 25BC a man called Apicius compiled some documents detailing recipes enjoyed by wealthy roman citizens. In his scrolls, Apicius tells us how the meals of wealthy Romans were split into starters, main meal and desserts, a very modern way of dining. He also recounts how the Roman cooks made use of many spices and herbs, including a few that will be familiar to modern chefs for example thyme, mint and parsley. Moving our culinary historical trip onwards, we have a couple of recipe books which were published in the fourteenth century - a cookery book titled `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary called `Curye on Inglish`. The titles are a little misleading though, they have no connection with the indian curry that we all know today, but rather accounts of the types of meals prepared by the cooks of the rich and wealthy people of that period. In the 15th century, knights returning from the crusades brought us a variety of foods and herbs from Arab cooking, including spices like coriander, parsley, and basil. The introduction of these new tastes was responsible for an explosion in recipe books, most of which are now in private cookery archives. Over the next few hundred years, the wealthy families of Europe competed to serve the most extravagent meals, and as a consequence, the best chefs and their recipes could command a high salary. Notwithstanding that, it was during the 19th century that cookery and recipe books rose to prominence. The Famous 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, testing, and publishing recipes common in their social group. When we get to the 1900s, recipe books were highly popular mostly as a result of more people being able to read, people having increased free time and having more money to spend. The arrival of TV brought us TV cooks and the demand for the accompanying recipe books. And that neatly brings us to the present day and the internet revolution, permitting us all to search through massive numbers of recipes like the ones you can find on this site. |
We hope you enjoy this Cang Cua Boc Tom (Shrimp On Crab Legs) recipe.
