CRAB CHOW MEIN

It is the height of the Dungeness crab season. They will be the largest and the sweetest of the year. We like to take advantage of this short window of crustacean grandeur. We have a Saturday routine that efficiently keeps us with fresh crab meat. Ms. Goofy starts a large pot of salted boiling water. Meanwhile, I jump in the ‘Formula One Racing Honda’ and drive down to the International Market at ten minutes to nine. I arrive at nine o’clock to be the first person in line at the fish counter. If I am late I would be subject to a sea of aggressive, crustacean loving, crab purchasers. With crabs in hand, I race back to the abode to plunge our live bounty into the boiling cauldron. Ten minutes later the bright red crabs are removed and plunged into ice cold water. The shells are dispatched. This process takes less than an hour. Today our crab meat will grace some home made chow mein.


While at the International market I purchased some fresh chow mein noodles. Fresh noodles are a very important component to this dish. Fresh broccoli and mushrooms from the farmers market will make its way into this happy wok. Here is a basic chow mein recipe that we followed. Feel free to substitute any fresh vegetables you have on hand. We started out with 5 pounds of live crab. This yielded less than 2 pounds of meat. The crab meat was added at the last second and only placed on the top of the chow mein. The wok lid was placed over the top and the crab meat gently heated from the steaming noodles and vegetables.


What a treat! We definitely like to take advantage of the Dungeness crab season. The crabs will be great for a couple of more weeks. The crab chow mein was, oh so crabby good. I think Asparagus season is poking it spears around the corner.