Serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
50g/2oz Chinese rice noodles, uncooked
2 dressed crabs, or 150g/5oz frozen white crab meat, thawed
115g/4oz alfalfa
1 small iceberg or bib lettuce
4 sprigs coriander, roughly chopped
1 ripe tomato, skinned, seeded and diced
4 sprigs fresh mint, roughly chopped

Sesame lime dressing
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 small red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
1 piece stem ginger in syrup, cut into matchsticks
2 tsp stem ginger syrup
2 tsp soy sauce
juice of 1/2 lime

Alfalfa Crab Salad with Crispy Fried Noodles

Combine the vegetable and sesame oils in a bowl. Add the chilli, stem ginger, stem ginger syrup and soy sauce with the lime juice.

Heat the oil in a deep-fryer to 196°C/ 385°F. Fry the noodles, one handful at a time, until crisp. Lift out and dry on paper.

Flake the white crab meat into a bowl and toss with the alfalfa sprouts. Serve on a nest of noodles and tossed salad ingredients

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

600ml/1 pint/2/1/2 cups fish or chicken stock
2.5cm/1in fresh root ginger, very thinly sliced
400g/14oz can creamed corn
150g/5oz cooked white crab meat
15ml/1 tbsp arrowroot or cornflour (cornstarch)
15ml/1 tbsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
15-30ml/1-2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 egg white
salt and ground white pepper
shredded spring onions (scallions), to garnish

Chinese Crab and Corn Soup

Put the stock and ginger in a large, heavy pan and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Stir in the creamed corn and bring back to the boil.

Turn off the heat and add the crab meat. Put the arrowroot or cornflour in a cup and stir in the rice wine or sherry to make a smooth paste,

then stir this into the soup. Cook over a low heat for about 3 minutes, until the soup has thickened and is slightly glutinous in consistency. Add

light soy sauce, salt and white pepper to taste.

In a bowl, whisk the egg white to a stiff foam. Gradually fold it into the soup. Ladle the soup into heated bowls, garnish each portion with spring onions and serve immediately.

Cook’s Tip

This soup is sometimes made with whole kernel corn, but creamed corn gives a better texture. If you can’t find it in a can, use thawed frozen creamed corn instead; the result will be just as good.

Variation

To make prawn (shrimp) and corn soup, substitute 150g/5oz cooked peeled and deveined prawns for the crab meat. Chop the peeled

prawns coarsely and add to the soup where you would usually add the crab meat.