Tag: seafood
Chili Clams
Chili Clams
Clams are very popular in Malaysian cuisine and are harvested along the beaches. Cooking them in a spicy chili/bean sauce is a great way to prepare them; taking very little time and preparation. The clams get sautéed in the sauce and are removed once opened. Any clams that don’t open are usually dead and should be discarded. Serve the chili clams with steamed rice.
Equipment
- food processor or mortar and pestle
Ingredients
- 20 littleneck clams washed
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 3 green onions chopped
Spice Paste
- 1/2” ginger
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp soybean paste
- 5 dried chilies
Instructions
- Add the spice paste ingredients into a food processor and pulse until its relatively smooth.
- Heat up the cooking oil in a wok over medium heat. Sauté the spice paste for 1 minute.
- Toss the clams into the spice paste and coat. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add in the water, sugar, and green onions. Cook for 4-5 minutes. As the clams start to open, remove each one. They will all cook at different amounts of time.
Crab Cakes Benedict
Crab Cakes Benedict
Eggs benedict is great, but how about adding crab cakes into the mix?! Crab cakes, soft boiled eggs, and Hollandaise sauce over English muffins is a marriage meant to be. You can use store bought crab cakes or make your own from scratch. My Maryland-style crab cake recipe attached below will make your belly very happy.
Ingredients
- 4 crab cakes homemade or frozen
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 English muffins sliced in half and toasted
Soft Boiled Eggs
- 4 large eggs
- water
- 1 tbsp vinegar
Hollandaise Sauce
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 egg yolks beaten
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp heavy cream
Instructions
Crab Cakes
- Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Fry the crab cakes for 4-5 minutes a side until golden brown. Set aside.
Hollandaise Sauce
- Melt the butter in a small pot over low heat.
- Beat the egg yolks, lemon juice, and cream together in a small bowl.
- Whisk in 1 tbsp of the melted butter into the yolk mixture to temper the eggs.
- Whisk in the tempered yolk mixture into the rest of the melted butter. Turn off the heat.
Soft Boiled Eggs
- Bring 3” of water to a boil in a small pot. Add in the vinegar. Reduce the heat to medium. Crack each egg into a measuring cup and carefully drop into the water. Simmer for 3-5 minutes depending on how you like your eggs cooked.
Assembly
- Top each of the English muffins with a crab cake.
- Place a soft boiled egg on each of the crab cakes.
- Spoon over the Hollandaise sauce over each of the crab cakes benedicts.
Maryland-Style Crab Cakes
Every time I go to Baltimore, I have to go to the Lexington Market and get a crab cake at Faidley’s Seafood. They’re spendy, but are considered to be some of the best crab cakes in the world. You can make crab cakes at home for a fraction of the price, all considering that good quality lump crab meat will cost you about $50 lb. But I guess getting 7-8 crab cakes for that much is better than paying $25 for just 1.
Ingredients
- 1 lb jumbo lump crab meat
- 20 saltine crackers crushed
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp hot sauce
- 1 tsp old bay seasoning
- 1/4 cup parsley chopped
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Mix together the mayonnaise, egg, dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and old bay seasoning.
- Fold in the crab meat, along with the crackers and parsley.
- Form into 1/3 lb. cakes. Place on parchment paper and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Heat up 1/4” of vegetable oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Place the crab cakes into the pan.
- Fry until golden brown; about 4-5 minutes a side.
New England Clam Chowder
New England Clam Chowder
I absolutely love chowders of all types; especially clam chowder. Quality clam chowder can cost you an arm and a leg. This chowder is so good that you’d think that it came from a high-end restaurant. For what you’d normally pay for 2 servings eating out, this recipe will yield enough to serve 8.
Ingredients
- 6 strips bacon diced
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 small white onion diced
- 3 ribs celery diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp hot sauce
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried parsley
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1/3 cup flour
- 4 cups half and half
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 8 oz clam juice
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 1/2 lbs red potatoes diced
- 16 oz chopped clams
Instructions
- In a large pot, brown the bacon until crispy. Remove from the pan, reserving 2 tbsp of the bacon grease.
- Add in the butter. Sauté the onions and celery for 5 minutes over medium high heat.
- Add in the garlic, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, oregano, parsley, thyme, and smoked paprika. Cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in the flour. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add in the chicken stock and half/half.
- Stir in the clam juice and bay leaf. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes, occasionally stirring.
- Add in the potatoes and continue simmering for 20 minutes.
- Stir in the clams and half of the cooked bacon. Simmer for no more than 5 minutes.
Garnish with more crumbled bacon. Serve with oyster crackers.