Tempura Soft-Shell Crab Salad

Name: Tempura Soft-Shell Crab Salad
Ingredients: ½ cup Walnut Oil Vinaigrette or Honey-Lemon Vinaigrette; ½ cup Walnut Oil Vinaigrette or Honey-Lemon Vinaigrette; 3 cups finely julienned root vegetables, such as carrots, beets, or parsnips, or a combination; 3 cups finely julienned root vegetables, such as carrots, beets, or parsnips, or a combination; 3 cups finely julienned root vegetables, such as carrots, beets, or parsnips, or a combination; 3 cups finely julienned root vegetables, such as carrots, beets, or parsnips, or a combination; 2 cups lightly packed mixed savory baby greens, such as mizuna, watercress, red mustard, and arugula; 2 cups lightly packed mixed savory baby greens, such as mizuna, watercress, red mustard, and arugula; 2 cups lightly packed mixed savory baby greens, such as mizuna, watercress, red mustard, and arugula; 3 cups finely julienned root vegetables, such as carrots, beets, or parsnips, or a combination; Flour for coating crab; Vegetable oil for deep-frying; 2 cups lightly packed mixed savory baby greens, such as mizuna, watercress, red mustard, and arugula; 2 cups lightly packed mixed savory baby greens, such as mizuna, watercress, red mustard, and arugula; ¾ cup flour, preferably a mixture of wheat and rice flour; ¾ cup flour, preferably a mixture of wheat and rice flour; ¾ cup flour, preferably a mixture of wheat and rice flour; Flour for coating crab; 6 large soft-shell crabs; 1 large egg yolk; 1 cup ice water

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

From the Earth to the Table

By John Ash

Published 1995

About

This is a delightful salad, with lots of crunch from both the raw vegetables and the crisply fried crab. Soft-shell crabs are available fresh from late spring to midsummer. Since they also freeze very well, they are available frozen year-round; ask your fishmonger to order and clean them for you.

Ingredients

6 large soft-shell crabs
1 large egg yolk
1 cup ice water

Fish course
Pescatarian
Summer
Spring

Method

Rinse the soft-shell crabs and pat them dry. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat together the egg yolk and water until just mixed. Dump the flour in all at once and whisk with a few strokes until the ingredients are loosely combined. The batter will be a little lumpy. Use immediately.

Lightly dust each crab with some flour. In a large saucepan or deep-fryer, pour the vegetable oil