Recipes provided with the Spirit of Aloha by Hawaii’s Chef’s, Families, Friends, and Businesses through…

Soft-Shell Crabs with Spicy Tarter Sauce

Sauce:
One and one half cup mayonnaise (1 ½ cup)
Three eights cup finely chopped dill pickles (3/8 cup)
Three eights cup finely chopped red onions, soaked in ice water for 15 minutes, drained and patted dry. (3/8 cup)
3 Tablespoons capers, rinsed, drained, and patted dry.
One quarter cup chopped fresh cilantro (1/4 cup)
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
One half to 1 chipole chile pepper in adobo sauce, or to taste, minced
Salt and pepper

Crabs:
8 small soft-shelled crabs, cleaned thoroughly
Whole milk, for soaking the crabs
1 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper
Vegetable oil, for sautéing
Lime wedges, for garnish

To make the tartar sauce, stir all the sauce ingredients together and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate while making the crabs.
To prepare the crabs, place them in a bowl with just enough milk to cover them. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. When the crabs have finished soaking, season the flour with salt and pepper to taste and transfer it to a shallow pie dish lined with parchment paper. Working in batches, remove the crabs from the milk, letting the excess drip off, and dredge them in the flour mixture, lifting up the sides of the parchment paper to help coat the crabs evenly with the flour.
Add one quarter inch ( ¼ inch) vegetable oil to a large skillet and heat over moderately high heat until almost smoking. Add the crabs to the skillet, shell side up first, and cook on both sides, about 3 minutes per side, until brown and crisp. Be careful- they splatter. As the crabs finish cooking, transfer them to a platter, shell side down, and cover loosely with foil to keep warm. Repeat the procedure with the remaining crabs. Serve the crabs immediately, topping each portion with the tartar sauce and a lime wedge.

 

Top Of Page
Go back