Recipe for noodle salad with king crab
King crab. When your fishmonger (who is a chef) says that it’s the finest meat you can get from the sea, and that the quality is FAR above that of lobster, someone like me perks up!
When he announced that he had freshly caught crabs, I was quick to order a leg for my wife and me. I received thorough instructions on how to cook it and the importance of trying both a boiled and a butter-fried version in a light salad.
I naturally did as he said and am sharing a highly successful result with you here.
What is king crab?
The king crab is a highly sought-after and large crab with long legs and claws. With its claws stretched out, it can measure up to 2 meters from claw to claw!
In some places, it is quite unwelcome because it feeds on the same seabed creatures as certain birds, so the birds and king crabs compete for food – and it’s the crabs that win. At the same time, king crab is one of the most expensive and finest crabs we have.
The meat is incredibly tasty and slightly sweet, and it’s also remarkably easy to extract from the legs!
Noodle Salad with King Crab
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale
- Pot
- Bread Knife
- Sieve
- Cutting Board
- Chef'S Knife
- Bowl
- Grater
- Potato Peeler
Ingredients
King Crab
- 1 pcs. King Crab 1 leg
- Water
- 150 gram Salt
- 50 gram Sugar
- 10 pcs. Peppercorns
- 3 pcs. Bay Leaf
- Butter for frying
- 100 gram noodles
- 100 gram Pointed Cabbage other cabbage can certainly be used
- 0.5 pcs. Lemon organic - both juice and zest
- 75 gram Corn Salad
- 2 handfuls Herbs e.g., parsley, dill, nasturtium & red sorrel
- 13.5 gram Olive Oil
- 2 pcs. Carrots
- 2 pcs. Red bell pepper
- 60 gram Salted almonds preferably homemade
- Pickled red onions to taste - preferably homemade
Instructions
King Crab
- The cooking liquid could easily handle 3-5 legs, but I only had 1. Still, the legs were so large that they needed to go in a 10-liter pot, so I could have easily had more in at the same time. You could also easily add fresh dill to the liquid.
- Bring the liquid to a boil.
- My large pot wasn't big enough for the entire leg to fit in, so I split it in the middle (see the picture at the bottom).
- Although the crab's leg is hard, it is quite jointed. Use, for example, a bread knife to split it. It's easier than you think.
- Boil it for 8-10 minutes and stop the cooking by placing the legs in ice water. Dry them well and now clip the shell off. It can shred a bit, so be careful.
- I chose to butter-fry the largest piece completely, so we got two different textures.
Noodles
- Cook the noodles as per the instructions on the package (I gave them 5 minutes). Pour them into a colander and drain.
- Rinse them in cold water so they don't stick.
Salad
- Finely slice the cabbage and put it in a bowl.
- Take your half lemon and squeeze the juice into the bowl.
- Grate the zest into it as well. Be careful not to get the white part from the peel - it's bitter.
- Rinse the corn salad and put it in the bowl.
- Rinse the herbs and chop them coarsely. Add them to the bowl.
- Add olive oil to the bowl and mix it well.
- Peel the carrots and cut them into thin slices. I like to take a bit of care (when the kids allow it).
- Also, cut the bell peppers into smaller pieces.
- Add the noodles and the shredded cooked king crab and mix everything well together.
Serving
- Arrange in 3 deep plates.
- Add pickled red onions on top.
- Chop the almonds very coarsely. They help give the dish crunch. Sprinkle them on top and serve.