Thai Crab Napoleon Recipes

CRAB SALAD NAPOLEONS WITH FRESH PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Drain pasta and cool under cold running water. Cut each sheet into 4-inch squares. Each Napoleon will require 3 (4-inch) squares.
• In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, 1/4 cup of the chives, lemon juice, pepper, crab, and peas, and toss to combine.
• To assemble the Napoleons, begin with 1 sheet of pasta on a plate. Spread a small spoonful of prepared mayonnaise on the pasta sheet. Top with 1/4 cup of the crab salad and gently spread the salad out to the edges of the pasta. Top with another sheet of pasta. Spread another spoonful of the prepared mayonnaise mixture on the pasta sheet. Top with another 1/4 cup of the crab salad and gently spread the salad out to the edges of the pasta sheet. Top with a final pasta sheet. Top with a small dollop of the crab salad. Sprinkle the top with a pinch of lemon zest, a pinch of chives, and a grind of black pepper.

THAI CRAB ROLLS

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, mix together the crabmeat, mayonnaise, tamarind paste, chile pepper and salt. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the mixture onto the center of a spring roll square. Fold one corner up just past the filling, and press to seal. Brush the open section of the roll with egg yolk. This does not just seal the roll, it also crisps it. Fold the two corners on either side of the folded corner towards the center. Roll up the filling tightly towards the remaining point. Seal the point with a little more egg if necessary. Repeat with remaining wrappers.
• Add enough oil to a heavy skillet to cover the rolls about half way. Heat over medium-high heat until oil is sizzling hot. Fry rolls a few at a time for 45 to 50 seconds, until golden. Remove to paper towels to drain.
• To make the dipping sauce, combine the rice vinegar, soy sauce, garlic clove and sugar in the container of a blender or food processor. Process until smooth.
• To serve, line a serving platter with lettuce leaves, and place a small bowl of the dipping sauce in the center. Arrange crab rolls on top of lettuce leaves around the dip.

NAPOLEONS

Steps:

• On a lightly floured surface roll out the pastry to 1/16-inch thick. Transfer pastry to a parchment-lined sheet pan and trim edges. With a fork prick surface all over and chill for 30 minutes. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Cover pastry with a second piece of parchment paper and weight down with a second sheet pan. Bake pastry for 10 minutes. Remove top sheet pan and parchment and continue to bake for another 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer pastry to a cooling rack.
• Make the filling: In a heavy saucepan combine the heavy cream, milk, and sugar. Using a knife scrape the seeds of the vanilla bean into the milk mixture and add the whole bean. Bring to a boil. Remove pan from heat and allow to steep for one hour. Discard the bean or reserve for another use.
• Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees. Whisk the yolks into the cooled milk mixture and strain through a fine sieve into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Place the dish in a larger roasting pan and add enough hot water to reach halfway up the side of the dish. Bake custard for 3/4 to 1 hour until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. let cool; cover and chill for several hours or overnight. To assemble: Transfer pastry to a flat surface. Using a ruler measure out three 3 1/2 x 11-inch strips. With a serrated knife carefully cut the pastry using a gentle sawing motion. With a paring knife cut the custard into two 3 1/2 x 11-inch strips and cut each strip in half crosswise. With a long, wide offset spatula transfer a piece of custard onto a strip of pastry, covering half of it. Transfer a second piece of custard to fill the first layer. Top with a second strip of pastry, smooth side up, and repeat process. If necessary, smooth the sides of the napoleon with a knife so that they are stacked neatly.
• Using a serrated knife carefully slice the napoleon into individual serving pieces. Sift confectioner's sugar over the napoleon to form a thick coating. Heat skewers on stovetop burner until red-hot and brand the sugar with cross hatch marks.
• Recommended drink: 1993 Passito di Pantelleria, Nuova Agricoltura

THAI STYLE CRAB CAKES

Steps:

• Purée shrimp in a food processor (smaller is better) until you have a smooth paste, or chop and mash by hand. Add fish sauce. In a bowl, mix the shrimp purée, crab meat, egg, scallion, cilantro, chili, ginger and salt and pepper; add just enough bread crumbs to stiffen mixture a bit. Refrigerate mixture until you are ready to cook; it will be easier to shape into cakes if you refrigerate it for 30 minutes or more.
• Season flour with salt and pepper. Film bottom of a large skillet with oil and place over medium-high heat. Shape crab meat mixture into cakes 1 inch thick and as wide as you want. Dredge each in flour, and cook, adjusting heat as necessary and turning once (very gently), until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes a side. Serve with lime wedges.

THAI CRAB CAKES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, gently combine the crab meat, rice, jalapenos, lemon zest, basil and mint. Carefully stir in the salt, the pepper, the eggs and the bread crumbs, leaving the crab in fairly large lumps. Using 1 tablespoon of the mixture for each cake, press into croquettes that are about 2 inches in diameter.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, cook the cakes until nicely browned and firm, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Add more oil to the skillet as needed between batches. Serve hot.

NAPOLEON OF PEEKY TOE CRAB AND APPLE

Steps:

• Pick over crab meat to remove any bits of shell and cartilage and if using lump crab meat lightly shred. Peel and core apple and cut enough into 1/4-inch dice to measure 1/2cup plus 1 tablespoon. Peel and seed tomato and cut enough into 1/4-inch dice to measure 1/3 cup. Reserve 1 tablespoon each diced apple and tomato for sauce and in a bowl combine crab meat, remaining diced apple and tomato, 1 tablespoon chives, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 1/2 tablespoons sour cream, 1 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise, and 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder, tossing to combine well. Chill filling.
• In a bowl whisk together milk and remaining tablespoons lemon juice, sour cream, and mayonnaise and stir in reserved diced apple and tomato, remaining teaspoon chives, 1/2 teaspoon curry powder, and white pepper and salt to taste. Chill sauce while making tuiles.
• Make tuiles:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small saucepan melt butter over moderate heat and cool slightly. In a bowl whisk together flours, sugar, salt, white pepper, and nutmeg and whisk in whites until just combined. Whisk in cream until just combined and whisk in butter until just combined. On a baking sheet spread 2 teaspoons batter in an arc shape. With a pastry brush spread batter into a 5-inch-long arc, about 1 1/2 inches wide. Make 3 more arcs with some of remaining batter in same manner, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Bake tuiles in middle of oven until bubbly, crisp, and golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Carefully transfer tuiles with a thin spatula to a rack to cool and make more tuiles in same manner. (There will be enough batter to make about 26 tuiles, more than you need for the napoleons; leftovers may be used as an hors d'oeuvre.)
• Spoon 2 tablespoons filling onto a plate and top with a tuile. Make 2 more layers with 4 tablespoons filling and 2 tuiles. Make 3 more napoleons in same manner. Drizzle sauce around napoleons and garnish with tomato, chives, and curry powder.

CHEF JOHN'S CRAB RANGOON

Steps:

• Mix cream cheese, crab meat, green onions, garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, sesame oil, and cayenne pepper together with a fork until ingredients are blended thoroughly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, 1 or 2 hours.
• Keep wonton wrappers moist by covering with a damp paper towel. Place a small bowl of water nearby on the work surface. With a wet fingertip, moisten surface of wonton. Place 1 1/2 teaspoons of crab filling in center of wonton. Fold 2 opposite corners toward each other over the filling but without touching tips together yet. Fold up the other 2 corners. Working gently from the bottom, squeeze out any air bubbles; pinch together the 4 seams from the bottom up to create a modified pyramid (or "warhead") shape. Place on a dry surface. Continue with remaining wontons.
• Heat oil in deep fryer to 350 degrees F. Fry wontons in batches until golden brown and crispy, gently moving them around in the oil with a strainer to brown each surface, about 3 minutes. Let cool about a minute before eating. Serve with the dipping sauce.
• Whisk ketchup, rice vinegar, brown sugar, and sriracha sauce together in a bowl for the dipping sauce.

BAKED CRAB RANGOON WITH THAI GINGER-LIME DIPPING SAUCE

Steps:

• Prehat the oven to 350°. Lightly spray the bottom of the cups of a muffin tin with a non-stick cooking spray.
• FILLING - Add the crab meat, cream cheese, chopped green onion, minced onion, teriyaki sauce and white pepper to a small mixing bowl and mix until well blended.
• Place the wonton wrappers on a flat surface. Add spoonfuls of the crab filling to the center of each wonton wrapper. Take two opposite tips of a wonton wrapper, and bring the tips to meet over the center of the filling. Take the other two opposite tips of the wonton wrapper and bring them to the center. Gently pinch the four tips together. Repeat with remaining wonton wrappers.
• Lift each Crab Rangoon appetizer gently and place one into each of the cups of the coated muffin tin. Bake in a 350° oven for 16-18 minutes or until the tips of the wonton wrappers are lightly browned.
• DIPPING SAUCE - In the meantime, add all the dipping sauce ingredients to a small bowl and mix until well blended. If you want a thinner sauce, you can place all the dipping sauce ingredients in a food processor and puree or blend for 10 to 20 seconds.
• When the appetizers are done, remove the pan from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 1 minute. Then carefully lift each baked rangoon and place on a platter.
• Serve (either warm or at room temperature) with the Thai Ginger-Lime Dipping Sauce.

THAI CRAB NAPOLEON

Steps:

• Prepare the curry sauce: heat curry paste and aromatics in some peanut oil. Add coconut milk, sugar and lime juice and bring to a boil for 5 minutes and allow to cool. Pre heat a grill or grill pan. Cut the ends off and slice the squash lenghtwise about 1/4" thick with a mandoline. Season on both sides with salt and pepper. Baste with the curry sauce and grill slices 1 minute or just until grill marks appear, rotate 1/4 turn and turn slices and repeat including basting on the other side. Pick through crab meat removing any shell, and place in a non reactive bowl. Add just enough curry sauce to moisten and flavor crab meat. Mix in the minced cilantro. Briefly steam the chives so they are just pliable. Assemble napoleons by spreading crab mixture on a slice of squash, placing another slice on top, spreading more crab mixture, then placing a third slice of zucchini on top. Tie together with multiple chives so you create bite size napoleons of about 1-1/2". Slice and serve garnished with fresh cilantro.