Hot Pot With Crab Wontons By Tyler Florence Recipes

STONE CRAB POTSTICKERS

Steps:

• Make the dipping sauce: In a small bowl combine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and ginger. Set aside and allow the flavors to develop.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg white, vinegar, and sesame oil; season it with salt and pepper. Add the ginger, shallot, scallion, and cilantro. Pick over the crab to remove any stray bits of shell and to break up any large pieces. Fold the crab meat into the egg white mixture. Place 1 tablespoon of the crab mixture in the center of a wonton wrapper. Moisten the edges with water and fold in half to create a half moon shape. Pleat the edges between your fingers, making about 4 or 5 pleats. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers.
• In a medium sized, flat bottom skillet, heat 2 tablespoons peanut oil over medium-high heat. Add half the dumplings, pleat side up, and fry for 1 to 2 minutes, until bottoms are golden brown. Carefully add 1/4 cup water to pan, it can splatter. Cover and steam dumplings for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove cover and continue cooking until most of the water is evaporated. Clean out pan and repeat. Serve immediately with the dipping sauce.

CRAB POT STICKERS WITH SESAME-GINGER DIPPING SAUCE

Steps:

• Make the sauce: In a small bowl whisk together the first 6 ingredients (soy sauce through water).
• To Make the Pot Stickers: Chop the green onion and pick over crab meat to remove any bits of shell and cartilage. Break up larger pieces of crab.
• In a dry small heavy skillet toast sesame seeds with salt to taste over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until golden, about 2 minutes. Transfer seeds to a medium bowl and cool slightly. Add egg white and ginger to seeds and lightly beat. Gently stir in crab and green onion. Season with salt and pepper.
• Put 6 wonton wrappers on a dry surface, keeping remaining wrappers in package, and lightly brush edges with water. Mound about 1 tablespoon filling in center of each wrapper. Gather edge of each wrapper up and around filling and form a waist with wrapper (filling should be exposed and level with top of wrapper). Lightly dust a plate with cornstarch and arrange pot stickers in one layer. Make 6 more pot stickers in same manner.
• In a large nonstick skillet heat vegetable oil over moderately high heat until hot, but not smoking, and fry pot stickers, flat sides down, until undersides are golden, about 1 minute. Add 1/4 cup water down side of skillet. Cover skillet and steam pot stickers over moderately low heat until cooked through, about 2 minutes. Remove lid and cook pot stickers until any water is evaporated.
• Serve pot stickers with dipping sauce.

CHILLED PEA SOUP WITH SPICY CRAB

Steps:

• Make the soup: Blend the peas and vegetable broth in a blender until very smooth. With the motor running, slowly pour in the olive oil in a steady stream to emulsify the mixture. Add half of the lemon juice, then chill the soup in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Season with salt and the remaining lemon juice before serving.
• Prepare the crab: Whisk the olive oil, sambal oelek and lemon juice together in a bowl. Fold in the crabmeat and mint and season with a pinch of salt. Fill small cups or glasses about three-quarters of the way with the chilled pea soup. Garnish each portion with 1 generous tablespoon of the spicy crab and serve immediately.

FRIED CRAB WONTONS

Steps:

• Combine in a food processor the ginger, shallots, carrot, green onion, cilantro, peanut oil and lemon juice. Pulse until fine. Put vegetable mixture in a mixing bowl, add the mayonnaise and the crabmeat and season with salt and pepper. Be careful not to mash the crabmeat, you want that texture when you bite into the wonton.
• Lay a wonton wrapper on a flat surface and brush with the beaten egg white. Drop 1 tablespoon of the crab filling onto the center of the wrapper. Fold the wonton in half, corner to corner, to form a triangle. Press around the filling to knock out any air bubbles, then press the seam together to seal so the filling doesn't seep out. You can leave them this shape or continue on by brushing the 2 side points with beaten egg white. Lay your index finger in the center so you have something to press up against, then fold the 2 sides into the center, slightly overlapping, and press the dough against your finger with your thumb to form a tight seal. Lightly dust the filled wontons with cornstarch to keep them from sticking together and place them on a cookie sheet. (When these are folded they look like Pope hats.)
• Heat 2 to 3 inches of oil in a deep heavy saucepan to 370 degrees F on a deep-fry thermometer. Add a few of the wontons to the oil and cook, turning them 3 or 4 times to get them nicely browned all over. Carefully lift them out of the pan with a slotted spoon and onto a paper towel-lined platter to drain. Keep going to cook all of the wontons.
• Stir together the dipping sauce and serve with the wontons.