[moE]

i've been looking for the recipe for the garlic noodles made famous by thanh long/ crustacean restaurants. can anybody help? thanks

[garlicginger]

Never heard of the restaurant. Where are you? In the U.S.?

Why not describe the dish you're talking about. Maybe the rest of us call it cometing else. Maybe it's not just the secret of that one restaurant.

[moE]

the restaurants are in los angeles and san francisco. they are known for their vietnamese garlic crabs and the noodles. it's supposedly a big family secret wherein the fmaily member that acts as a chef locks herself into a small kitchen and these two dishes come from that kitchen. the noodles are dry(not saucy) and seem to be tossed in a a garlic paste type of mixture. it is almost like a roasted garlic paste but not quite. their crabs are also really good, they are served swimming in a butter/garlic mixture and they are very, very tasty. but these cost a fortune at the restaurants.

[garlicginger]

Since I'm not a family member and have an aversion to being locked in small spaces, alas, I have no recipe for you. However, if you'll give me an address in S.F. I promise to go and taste until I come up with one. The crabs swimming in garlic butter----they ARE dead; aren't they?


This may sound like a silly question, but there is a Japanese recipe where you take young eels, alive, swimming in water. Add a big block of tofu and turn on the heat. As the water heats up, the eels swim into the tofu. When all eels are in the tofu and dead, the dish is ready to eat.

[mudbug]

garlicginger,

Click here to find more explaination on what moE is looking for.

Crustacean has been featured on many shows, including "Martha Stewart Living"

Chefs' taste for secrecy flavors signature dishes

Keep in mind this is not the actual recipe as we will probably ever know it but rather a "CopyCat" recipe"

GARLIC NOODLES

3 Tbsp. butter
8 oz. broad egg noodles
3 1/2 c. chicken broth
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

In large skillet, melt butter. Lightly brown uncooked noodles (browning will be uneven). Add chicken broth, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Bring to boil; then simmer, covered, 10 minutes or until noodles are tender.

GARLIC CRAB (for six)

I BOUGHT three live mud crabs, each about 1 kg in weight.

Instead of killing a crab by piercing it with a chopstick or a knife through the flap at the underbelly, which puts me off, I put them to sleep by placing them for a couple of hours in the refrigerator, claws tied, of course.

Then I boil them briefly, before sauteing them.

First, cook the crabs for about five minutes in a boiling pot of water, large enough to submerge them in. Remove with tongs and plunge into a basin of cold water to stop the cooking process.

Cut away the strings used to tie their claws, then pull off the shell by prying open the underbelly flap. Remove the head sac found within the shell and the spongy gills.

Then, using a knife, detach the claws and cut the body into two or more parts, if the crab is large.

Now get the paste ready. Cut off the roots from a bunch of fresh coriander, wash, then chop finely. You will need about 2 Tbs worth.

Heat a wok till hot. Place 2 Tbs of vegetable oil to heat. When hot, saute half a cup of chopped garlic, the coriander root and 2 Tbs of crushed black pepper.

Add the cleaned crab pieces. Add 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp salt. Toss over high heat till the crab pieces turn bright red. Then add half cup of stock (vegetable, seafood or just water), cover and leave to cook for 10 minutes or so.

Taste to adjust seasoning and serve at once, on its own or with plain boiled noodles tossed with light soya sauce and fried garlic.

From:
AsiaOne

You may also enjoy the following site.

[garlicginger]

And I did (enjoy)!!! Thank you very much.

[mudbug]

This sounds delicious!

Garlic-Roasted Dungeness Crab
Brian Poor

2 whole, live Dungeness crab
* cup minced fresh garlic
* cup minced fresh ginger
1 cube real butter
1 tablespoon sea salt or kosher salt or 2 teaspoons table salt
2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1 cup minced white or yellow onion
1 cup dry white wine (Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Semillon)
juice of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. The crabs need to be alive and kicking. Hold the crab firmly with one had and pull the shell off with your other hand. Grasp the legs in both hands and lift up which will snap the crab in half. You will have a half or a crab in either hand and he will have stopped struggling. Shake the legs under cold running water to remove the guts.

Lay the half crabs on a firm surface and with a cleaver or heavy knife, cut between each leg to separate into 10 legs and claws. Use the backside of the cleaver or knife to smack each leg and joint to slightly expose the ivory flesh of the crab. This will help the butter mixture to permeate into the meat.

Place a stovetop safe roasting pan over medium heat. Combine garlic, ginger, butter, onion, slat and pepper in the pan and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes only. Add the crab and stir well to coat all of the legs. Put into the 375 degree oven and roast for 15-20 minutes until shells are golden brown. You must stir the legs twice during the cooking process to help coat with the garlic mixture.

When crab is golden brown, remove and add white wine and lemon juice. Return to oven for 5 additional minutes. Serve crusty bread for dipping into the roasting pan juices.

[LuvPie]

the ingredients as well as the method of making this dish has escaped me since the first time I ate at the Crustacean behind my hotel in San Fran.
My friend and I didn't order it because the meals there are pricy enough so we'd settled on the dinner we ordered as planned, to the dismay of our server. He brought us the garlic noodles anyway, didn't charge us, and we could not believe how incredible they were.

I will read through these posts and see if I could do any of these recipes.