Soft-shell crab is back!

It's soft-shell crab season and Wild Ginger is featuring two distinctly prepared dishes  :::

Vietnamese Soft-shell Crab ~ garlic, shallot, black pepper and fish sauce
Cantonese  Soft-shell Crab ~ salt, pepper, golden fried garlic and red chilies

For those of you wishing to bring the tastes of Wild Ginger into your home, here is a soft-shell crab recipe we recommended :::

To start, live crabs are the best, but they're not very easy to find. When selecting your crab, your nose will tell you what's good. Trust your instincts. When fresh, crab smells clean and astringent mimicing the scent of sea mist. To clean, hold the crab in one hand and while using a pair of kitchen shears, cut off the front of the crab, about 1/2 inch behind the eyes and mouth. Squeeze out the contents of the sack located directly behind the cut you just made. Rinse and pat dry.

For the crust:
1 cup of peanut oul
1 1/2 cups of rice flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 eggs

For the sauce:
1- 1/2 Tbl thin sliced shallot
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
1 Tbl inely sliced lemongrass
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 Tbl fish sauce
1-2 tsp sugar (varying depending on prefence)
1 tsp black pepper

Heat oil in large saute pan until it reaches 325 degrees. Sift flour, salt and pepper together. Beat eggs in separate bowl. Immerse cleaned crabs in egg misture. Drain slightly then roll into flour mixture. Pan-fry until golden bwon (use caution as oil may splatter). Drain on paper towel. Remove all oil from the pan except one tablespoon. Fry shallots in this oil on medium high heat until golden, then add garlic and lemongrass, stirring constantly until fragrant, about one minute. Add chicken stock, fish sauce, sugar and pepper and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoinings to preference. Place crabs in pan and gently turn to coat with sauce. Plate and garnish with rough chopped cilantro. Enjoy!