Crab Salad Recipe
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Delicious Gourmet Surimi Salad
This delicious gourmet surimi salad can also be made with fresh crab. The dressing is a nice mixture of herbs, seasonings, and citrus juices with a bit of an Asian flavor. The crab or surimi should be the freshest you can get. The salad itself is made up of greens, vegetables and kumquats, which provide a refreshing tart flavor.
Kumquats are small, tart citrus fruit that can be enjoyed raw. They have a thin, sweet rind while the inside of the fruit is sour and salty. Some people only eat the rind or they will eat the entire fruit at once. We dare to slice the kumquats so you get the beautiful visual of the inside of the fruit and you get to enjoy both the sweet rind and the tart pulp. Kumquats are often made into preserves, jelly, used as garnish or in cocktails.
Serve this salad as a main course for a formal luncheon or you can serve it as an appetizer salad at a formal meal. It is full of gourmet flavors that you will want to savor in an environment that lets you truly concentrate on your food. The combination of the kumquats with the crab or surimi is definitely one to savor. The flavors complement each other extremely well, bringing out the best in all of them. This salad is rather spicy with the sriracha sauce and the peppers; if you would prefer to tone it down, you can substitute another ingredient with a milder flavor. If you do like it spicy, you will really enjoy this combination.
Thai Crab Salad
Ingredients -
Dressing:
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1 lemon
½ cup rice vinegar
3 Tablespoons fish sauce
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons water
1 inch ginger knob, peeled and grated
1 Tablespoon cilantro, chopped
1 Tablespoon mint, chopped
Crab:
1 pound crabmeat or surimi shrimp and crab claws
Zest of one lemon
Squeeze of sriracha (Thai hot sauce)
Salad:
1 red onion
2 small carrots, peeled
⅓ cup mint leaves, chopped
⅓ cup cilantro, chopped
1 cubanelle pepper
1 red pepper
2 cucumbers
15 kumquats
Salad greens
Preparation:
Mix the citrus juices, vinegar, fish sauce, sugar, water, ginger, cilantro, and mint in a small bowl, stirring well. Let the dressing sit while you prepare the rest of the salad.
In a large bowl, mix the crab with the lemon zest and half a cup of the dressing. Add a squeeze of sriracha and stir gently. Cover the crab and refrigerate while you finish making the salad.
Chop the red onion and add it to the dressing. Use a vegetable peeler to slice the carrots into long strips. Add the strips to the dressing.
Wash the salad greens and arrange them in a large bowl. Chop up the peppers and add them to the greens. Remove the ends of the cucumbers. Slice the cucumbers and add them to the bowl. Slice the kumquats into coins (don't peel them!) and add to the salad.
Just before serving, toss the salad with the dressing. Serve the salad and top with crab. Garnish with cilantro and mint. Serve with lime wedges if you wish and some extra sriracha sauce.
(Serves 4)
Photo Description:
Japanese surimi is often shaped as shrimp and crab claws. In Japan, they have made imitation crab into an art form. In our crab and kumquat salad, you can use either real crab or surimi. This is a delicious gourmet salad that would be perfect for a fancy dinner party. The little kumquat coins are bright and add a wonderful look to this delicious salad that you do not often see. The tart flavor of the kumquats contrasts nicely with the sweetness of the crab. This salad is a little spicy, too; if you want to keep it mild, leave out the sriracha sauce.
