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Garlic Noodles with Crab
Garlic Noodles with Crab, like many iconic California dishes, is a dish that was born out of the creative fusion of the many different cultures that coexist here in the Golden State. In 1970s San Francisco, Vietnamese chef Helene An was inspired by her surrounding Italian neighborhood and cooked noodles using ingredients that were locally available to her. She came up with Garlic Noodles served with Roast Crab, using umami rich Asian sauces, Italian parmesan cheese and Dungeness crab, a type of crab that lives in the cold waters off the coast of California and the rest of the West Coast. Garlic Noodles and Roast Crab are now famous at both Chef An’s original Thanh Long restaurant as well as the sister restaurant Crustacean in both the Bay Area and Los Angeles. The restaurant prepares whole Dungeness crab by roasting it, but we’re skipping that step and simply re-warming Dungeness crab that your fishmonger has already steamed for you. Look for cooked Dungeness crabs that are bright orange-red and heavy for their size. Dungeness crab is considered a good choice for sustainable seafood. A full-bodied California Chardonnay is a perfect pairing for the buttery noodles. For something to balance out the rich flavors, try a bright California rosé.
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Ingredients
For the Dungeness Crab:
- 2 Dungeness crabs, about 2 pounds (1 kg) each, cleaned and steamed
- 8 tablespoons (120 mL) butter
- 10 cloves or 1 whole head of garlic, coarsely chopped
- 2 teaspoons (10 mL) salt
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) cracked black pepper (coarse grind)
For the Garlic Noodles:
- 12 ounces (350 g) spaghetti noodles or Asian fresh egg noodles
- 10 cloves or 1 whole head of garlic
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) premium oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) finely grated Parmesan-style cheese
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) sugar
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) olive oil
- 4 tablespoons (60 mL) butter
- ¼ cup (60 mL) sliced scallions
Instructions
- To prepare the Dungeness crab:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Turn the heat off. Carefully slide Dungeness crabs into the hot water and let sit for 10 minutes to warm crabs. Remove crabs from hot water to a colander or bowl to drain off excess water. Rinse out pot; you will use it for the Garlic Noodles.
- In a wok or large sauté pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add chopped garlic and cook until garlic is fragrant.
- If the wok or pan is large enough, add both warmed Dungeness crabs to the pan. Spoon garlic butter over the crabs, and using a pair of tongs, gently turn the crabs over a few times to make sure they are entirely coated in the garlic butter. Add salt and pepper. Remove Dungeness crabs to serving plate, drizzle remaining garlic butter from pan over the crabs.
- Set cooked crabs aside while you make the Garlic Noodles.
- Wipe out pan or wok; you will use it to make the Garlic Noodles.
- To make the garlic noodles:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add noodles and cook noodles according to package directions until al dente. Depending on the type and brand of noodles, the cooking time can be anywhere from 90 seconds to 12 minutes. Save 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain the noodles. Do not rinse the noodles.
- While noodles are cooking, prepare the remaining ingredients.
- Very finely mince garlic cloves.
- In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, finely grated parmesan cheese and sugar if using.
- Heat olive oil in a wok or large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add butter and stir until melted into olive oil. Add minced garlic to the pan and cook until fragrant, about 90 seconds. Do not allow garlic to brown.
- Stir the sauce mixture into the melted butter in the pan.
- Add the cooked noodles to the pan and toss with sauce to coat the noodles, about 1 minute. If the noodles and sauce become too dry in the pan, add reserved cooking water to pan a few tablespoons at a time to loosen the noodles.
- Transfer the Garlic Noodles to a serving platter. Garnish with sliced scallions. Serve immediately alongside Dungeness Crabs.
- Store leftover Dungeness crab and Garlic Noodles separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator. Dungeness crabs will keep for one day. Garlic Noodles will keep for up to two days
- Notes and Substitutions
- Dungeness crabs can weigh anywhere from 2-4 pounds (1-2 kilograms) per crab. About 30% of that will be actual crab meat. Allot ½ a large Dungeness crab per serving.
- You can make Garlic Noodles with whatever long, thin noodles are available to you. If you have access to Asian-style fresh noodles, use them because they have a subtle bouncy texture that you don’t get from regular dried spaghetti noodles.
- Fish sauce is a liquid sauce made from fermented fish and salt. Though fish sauce can have an intense fragrance directly from the bottle, the final dish does not actually smell or taste strongly “fishy.” Fish sauce adds umami and salt. You can find fish sauce in the condiments or the Asian food section of grocery stores, or online. If you cannot find fish sauce, substitute with additional soy sauce or miso paste mixed with water.
- Oyster sauce is a thick sauce made primarily from oysters. It adds umami and a subtle sweetness to final dishes. Look for a brand that has “oyster” as the first ingredient. If you cannot find oyster sauce, substitute with an equivalent amount of a mix of half soy sauce and half sugar.
- We listed “Parmesan-style cheese” in the ingredients, but you can use any strong, grating cheese that is available to you.
- For a vegetarian version of Garlic Noodles, use vegetarian “fish sauce” and vegetarian “oyster sauce,” both of which are commonly made with mushrooms.
- For a vegan version of Garlic Noodles, use spaghetti noodles (not egg noodles), the same substitutions for fish sauce and oyster sauce as above, substitute Parmesan cheese with an equivalent amount of nutritional yeast, and use plant-based butter.
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