I love Thai flavours and I love fresh crab so combining these together gives you the perfect recipe: Thai crab noodles. Well actually in this case zoodles! I have been craving fresh crab for a long time so a quick trip to the English Market in Cork soon put paid to that! Fresh crab reminds me of growing up in my hometown Kinsale. Nearly every second pub or restaurant would serve crab salad or an open crab sandwich with a bowl of fresh chowder on the side.
Balancing The Flavours
Fresh crab doesn’t require a lot of flavour as the taste speaks for itself. If you drown the crab in a rich sauce then you lose the flavour completely. In Thai cooking it is important to balance the flavours and spices to perfection. If you overdo one then it takes over the flavour of the other. When making the Thai crab noodles you just want a hint of spice coming through to balance the flavours of the noodles and the crab. Here I use vegetable pasta as the sweet taste of the roasted vegetables perfectly complements the lightness of the Thai crab topping, however, you can use any spelt or wholemeal pasta.
Health Benefits of Crab
Crabmeat is low in fat and high in protein with a good source of omega-3. It is the best non-vegetarian source of selenium so is anti inflammatory and contains a good source of riboflavin and other nutrients such as copper. Note that crab contains cholesterol so consume in moderation if on a low cholesterol diet.
Preparing The Crabmeat
Buy the crabmeat fresh or frozen from your local fish monger. Leave it to defrost in the packaging for two to three hours at room temperature. If using fresh crab you will need a nutcracker, a lot of time and a lot of patience! Preparing the rest of the ingredients for Thai crab noodles takes minutes. It will soon be your go-to recipe if you want a quick gourmet meal.
Let’s Spiralize!
OK so you’ve heard me rant and rave about how much I love my spiralizer. I think I have owned at least four to date but the latest electric spiralizer is my favourite and beats other electric spiralizers hands down. The push down spiralizers often stop mid way but the horizontal spiralizing allows most of the vegetable to be spiralized. Just reserve the tail ends of the vegetables for juicing. And it is super quick too. In 5 minutes you can have enough spiralized veggies for 5 people! Here I use courgettes and carrots but any combination of butternut squash, sweet potato, courgette and carrot works well. Place them on an oiled baking tray and spray with a light coating of rapeseed oil and season well. Bake for 15-20 mins turning over half way through. Enjoy!
If you like this then you will love my recipe for fish tacos, another satisfying pescatarian meal!
Thai Crab Noodles
Print ThisIngredients
- 300g fresh crabmeat or fresh frozen crabmeat
- 2 tablespoons rapeseed oil or coconut oil
- 4 large scallions, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
- 2 red chillies, deseeded and chopped
- 1 inch cube fresh ginger, grated
- 1 piece lemongrass, chopped finely
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- zest of 2 limes
- juice of 1 lime
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1 large handful fresh coriander, chopped
- 300 ml white wine
- 4 tablespoons coconut cream
- salt and pepper
- vegetable pasta:
- 4 large carrots
- 3 large courgettes
Instructions
Sauteé the scallions and garlic in the oil for two minutes until softened.
Add the chillies, ginger and lemongrass and cook for another minute.
Add the paprika and cook for one minute to infuse the spice.
Add the lime zest, lime juice and fish sauce. Stir in the crab and mix well with the ingredients in the pan.
Add the white wine and cook on a very low heat for 4-5 minutes until heated through.
Stir in the coconut cream and the freshly chopped coriander and cook until simmering. Season to taste.
Serve on a plate of fresh vegetable or pasta of your choice.
Vegetable Pasta:
Preheat the oven to 180˚C.
Spiralize the carrots and courgettes.
Toss in rapeseed or olive oil and season.
Bake for 15-20 minutes turning half way through until cooked.
Notes
Coconut cream can be substituted with creme fraiche.
