Friday 24 June 2011

SHELL-ON CRAB AND CORN CHOWDER

We can't seem to have enough of crabs. While it's in season, we eat a lot of it. Today, I made a crab and corn chowder. I've left the meat in the shells. The shells makes the soup taste so rich, briny and really crabby (!). Also, this is supposed to be a quick and easy to cook dish. I don't want to slave all day picking the flesh off the crab shell. Flaked crab meat tends to fall apart when cooked leaving you just mush to chew on rather than the big tasty morsels that you coax off the shell.

This is not a thick chowder. It wouldn't be nice to try to pick meat from a crab that's covered in thick soup. Vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, and corn, makes this a hearty one-dish meal. All you need is some crusty bread to dip in the soup. 



Ingredients:


2 crabs
2 tbsps. butter
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 medium onion, sliced
2 carrots, sliced in rounds
5 c. chicken stock
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 tin of sweet corn (1 c.)
2 stalks of celery, sliced into thick diagonal pieces
1/4 each of sweet red and green pepper, cut into 1" x 1" squares
3 bunches of spring onions, cut diagonally
1 c. of evaporated milk
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
2 tbsps. chopped parsley


Method:


Put the crabs in the fridge to put them to sleep. 

Boil plenty of water and immerse the crabs in. Parboil for 5 minutes. Take out of the water and rinse with cold water. 

Separate the claws and crack the shells with the back of a cleaver or a meat tenderizer. Take the shells out and cut in two. You may choose not to include this if you are not keen on the brown meat of the crab. Take the dead man's fingers off. Chop the body into quarters. Set aside. 

In a big pot, saute the garlic for 2 minutes until it starts to colour. Add the onions and sauté until soft and translucent. Add the carrots and the stock and simmer until the carrots are half done. Add the potatoes and sweetcorn. When the potatoes are half done, add the crabs, celery and peppers. Simmer until the potatoes are done. 

Lastly, add the milk, black pepper and the spring onions. Check the seasonings. Sprinkle with parsley before serving.

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12 comments:

  1. Ohh Adora your crabs are making me so hungry now!(it's dinner time here in SG) I love CRABS! All kinda crabs I eat! :D
    Esp. if cooked with sauces! YUMMY! ^.^

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  2. The chowder looks wonderful. Yummy!

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  3. I have not eaten crabs in a while. We only get the huge frozen Alaskan ones with the body and legs, minus outer shell and claws.Occasionally I see some at the Asian grocery stores. Your crab and corn chowder looks so flavorful and delicious!

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  4. I hardly see crabs over here...kinda miss them. The corn chowder with crabs...writing it down has already made me drool.

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  5. Love the idea of the chowder. I've never cooked live crab - but you make it sound easy.

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  6. Adora, seriously.... have you thought of opening a restaurant or becoming a cooking teacher or do some cooking professionally? Your meals are just amazing! I'd love to take cooking lessons from you! I'm unfortunately allergic to crab (learned that after mid 20s), but I love crab and this will be my favorite corn chowder EVER.

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  7. Ciao Andora! Your photos always look sooo professional. The lighting and sharp focus are incredible. The crab dish looks good, but the Tahitian chicken really caught my eye. Bravo Andora!

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  8. What a delicious way to serve crabs! Love it!

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  9. Although I love to eat crabs, I have never cooked a single live crab in my life...I'm too scared! That's why I love coming here, you have many yummy crab recipes that maybe one of these days, I'll probably find the courage to overcome my cookcrab-phobia. For now, I'll just show my mom your recipes ;-).

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  10. The corn chowder looks great.

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  11. I love crab and all your dishes look delicious!!

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