Category: Seafood

California Crab Rice Bowls

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If you’ve known me for more than five minutes, you know I absolutely lose it for Dungeness crab. I will prepare and eat it in all its permutations, and one of my favorites is this rice bowl, which is basically an elevated California roll in bowl format. It’s healthy and delicious, so eat to your heart’s content.

Ingredients:
  • 2 cups cold water, divided
  • 1 (5 by 3-inch) piece kombu
  • 1/4 cup loosely packed katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)
  • 1/4 cup chopped peeled ginger plus 1 teaspoon grated peeled ginger, divided
  • 2 cups uncooked sushi rice, rinsed
  • 1/2 cup sake
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1 garlic clove, grated
  • 2 cups Dungeness crab meat
  • 1 avocado, thinly sliced
  • 1 Persian or 1/2 English cucumber, seeded and diced
  • Smelt roe or tobiko, thinly sliced nori, and toasted sesame seeds, for serving
  1. Place 1 1/2 cups cold water and kombu in a small saucepan; heat over high until steaming. Remove from heat; sprinkle katsuobushi over broth, and steep 3 minutes. Strain dashi into a bowl; discard solids. (Alternatively, make 1 cup dashi using instant dashi granules.)
  2. Process remaining 1/2 cup water and chopped ginger in a blender until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour ginger water through a fine wire-mesh strainer; discard solids.
  3. Prepare a rice cooker: combine rinsed rice, 1 cup dashi, ginger water, sake, and salt, and cover. Cook rice according to rice cooker instructions and set aside, keeping rice warm.
  4. Meanwhile, bring brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, and grated ginger to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-low. Boil until sauce thickens to a syrup consistency, about 5 minutes. Let cool, and reserve.
  5. Divide rice among four serving bowls, and top with crab and avocado. Top evenly with cucumber, roe, nori, and sesame seeds, and serve immediately with sweet soy glaze.

Garlic Noodles with Dungeness Crab

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If you’ve spent time in San Francisco then you know the city’s garlic noodles are iconic. They’re on countless menus but the original lies with Thanh Long, a classic Vietnamese restaurant in the Sunset District, that I lived near to many moons ago.

This dish is a love letter to Thanh Long’s infamous noodles. It’s absolutely worth seeking out fresh Dungeness crab for the best flavor.

Ingredients:
  • 1 pound fresh wheat noodles or spaghetti pasta
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 onion, sliced
  • 8 ounces lump crabmeat, preferably Dungeness
  • 1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked or sweet paprika
  • Black pepper
  • 1 green onion, sliced, for serving
  1. Cook the noodles to al dente according to package directions. Drain and rinse well with cold water.
  2. In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and 1 tablespoon water to blend. Set sauce aside.
  3. In a large skillet or wok, heat 1 tablespoon each of the olive oil and butter over medium-high heat. Add one-third of the garlic and cook, stirring, for about a minute. Add the onion and stir-fry until the garlic just begins to brown, about another minute. Add the crab, Cajun seasoning, paprika, and pepper to taste. Cook for another minute, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
  4. Return the skillet to medium heat and add the remaining 1 tablespoon each olive oil and butter. Add the remaining minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute or two. Add the sauce, let it warm up, then add the cooked noodles. Mix well to coat the noodles with the sauce, then add about 1/4 of the crab mixture and stir for another minute to warm through.
  5. Transfer the noodles to a serving platter and top with the remaining crab mixture, garnish with the green onions and pepper, and serve.

Ponzu-Salmon Avocado Toast

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We’re continuing this summer’s basic millennial avocado toast theme with ponzu-salmon avocado toast. Adapted from Bon Appetit, this simple meal is as if sushi met avocado toast and became dinner. It’s easy, it’s delicious, it’s genius.

Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon Meyer lemon juice, plus more
  • 1 Armenian or 3 Persian cucumbers, chopped
  • 1 avocado, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped pickled ginger
  • Salt
  • 4 ounces cold-smoked salmon, torn into bite-size pieces
  • 4 slices sourdough bread, toasted
  • Toasted sesame seeds and toasted nori seaweed snacks, for serving
  1. Mix mayonnaise and chili-garlic sauce in a small bowl; set aside.
  2. Mix soy sauce, lime juice, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice in another small bowl; set ponzu sauce aside.
  3. Place cucumbers, avocado, and pickled ginger in a medium bowl; season with salt. Squeeze a little lemon juice and toss gently to combine.
  4. Dip each piece of reserved salmon in ponzu sauce and add to bowl with cucumber mixture; toss gently until just distributed.
  5. Spread some spicy mayonnaise over each piece of toast. Top with salmon mixture and drizzle a small amount of remaining ponzu over. Sprinkle toast with sesame seeds, then crumble seaweed snacks on top.

Salmon and Corn Chowder

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This soup is perfect for the springtime as the weather (finally) warms up. It’s lighter than clam chowder and the addition of corn is like a harbinger of sunnier days. Serve this with some toasted sourdough and a salad and you’ve got a perfect casual seafood meal.

Ingredients:
  • 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 8-ounce salmon fillet
  • 3 slices turkey bacon, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1 stalk celery, diced
  • 3/4 teaspoon chopped thyme leaves
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 cup half-and-half, warmed
  • 2 cups fresh corn kernels (from 2 ears)
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • 3 Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
  • Black pepper
  • Chopped green onions, for serving
  1. Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add 2 teaspoons of the olive oil around the pan, add the salmon, skin side down, and cook until the skin is golden brown and releases easily from the pan, about 4 minutes. Flip the salmon over and continue cooking for another 4 minutes. Transfer the salmon to a plate to cool.
  2. Meanwhile, heat a medium Dutch oven over medium heat, then drizzle in the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and add the turkey bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the carrot, celery, thyme, and garlic. Cook until the vegetables are soft, another 3 to 5 minutes. Add the flour, salt, Old Bay, paprika, and basil. Cook for another minute or two, then slowly add the half-and-half, stirring the vegetables well as you add it so that there’s no clumping. After the mixture thickens and bubble again, add the chicken stock, corn, and potatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender throughout, about 20 minutes.
  3. Remove the skin from the salmon, break it into bite-size chunks, add it to the pot, and simmer for another 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve garnished with green onions. (You can let the soup cool and store it in the refrigerator up to 3 days before reheating to serve.)

Garlic-Butter Grilled Shrimp

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There’s something about the roasted garlic, bottled Italian dressing (please don’t judge) and lime juice that turns this grilled shrimp into a sublime dish. Call it alchemy. Call it anything you want, just know that it’s absolutely delicious.

Hawaiian style garlic butter shrimp
Ingredients:

For the roasted garlic butter:

  • 1/2 cup avocado oil
  • 1/4 cup peeled garlic cloves
  • 1/2 cup salted butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

For the shrimp:

  • 1/2 cup bottled Italian dressing
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup lime juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 pounds peeled tail-on large raw shrimp
  • 1/2 cup chopped green onions
  • 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  1. Make the roasted garlic butter: Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Place oil and garlic in a small baking pan, cover with aluminum foil. Roast garlic in oven until soft and light golden brown, about 40 minutes. Let cool 45 minutes. Remove garlic from oil; place garlic in small bowl. (Reserve garlic oil for another use.) Add butter to bowl with garlic and smash with a fork until smooth. Stir in salt. Let butter mixture stand until ready to use.
  2. Make the shrimp: While garlic cools, stir together Italian dressing, mayonnaise, lime juice, and salt. Add shrimp and toss to coat. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  3. Heat a grill or grill pan over medium-high. Remove shrimp from marinade and discard marinade. Grill shrimp until cooked through, 2 minutes per side. Transfer shrimp to a large bowl and add roasted garlic butter, tossing until butter is melted and shrimp are coated. Sprinkle with green onions, parsley, and paprika; toss to combine. Transfer to a serving plate.