Cellophane Noodles with Crab and Black Pepper

Name: Cellophane Noodles with Crab and Black Pepper
Yield: serves 2 as a main course, or 4 to 6 with 2 or 3 other dishes
Ingredients: Cooked meat and tomalley and fat from a 2-pound Dungeness crab (about 1/2 pound crabmeat and 1/4 cup tomalley and fat); 1 egg; 1 tablespoon water; 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce; 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon black pepper, preferably freshly ground; 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro; 2 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil; 1 large shallot or small yellow onion, thinly sliced; 3 dried wood ear mushrooms, reconstituted (page 334), stemmed, and cut into 1/8-inch-wide strips (about 1/4 cup); 1/4 pound cellophane noodles, soaked in hot water until pliable, drained, and cut into 10-inch lengths

December 14, 2011

When it is dungeness crab season (November through May on the West Coast), one of my favorite ways to capture the essence of Cancer magister is to make these golden noodles. Cellophane noodles absorb whatever flavors they are combined with, in this case the sweet brininess of crabmeat and tomalley. This dish is best when it is made with a live crab that you cook yourself. If you are too squeamish to cook crab at home, buy a precooked crab the day it is cooked. But don’t have the crab cracked, as you want all the delicious juices to stay inside. See page 322 for directions on cooking and cleaning the crab and picking the crabmeat.

Cooks' Note

If only blue crabs are available, substitute 9 or 10 crabs (3 1/3 pounds total) for the Dungeness. If you prefer not to use the tomalley and fat, or if there isn’t any, use 2 eggs instead of 1 egg and increase the fish sauce in step 1 to 2 tablespoons.

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