Photograph by Leigh Beisch

Cellophane Noodles with Crab And Black Pepper

Mi?n Xào Cua

WHEN IT IS DUNGENESS CRAB SEASON (November through May on the West Coast), one of my favorite ways to capture the essence of Cancer magister is to make these golden noodles. Cellophane noodles absorb whatever flavors they are combined with, in this case the sweet brininess of crabmeat and tomalley. 

This dish is best when it is made with a live crab that you cook yourself. If you are too squeamish to cook crab at home, buy a precooked crab the day it is cooked. But don't have the crab cracked, as you want all the delicious juices to stay inside. See page 322 for directions on cooking and cleaning the crab and picking the crabmeat.  

Serves 2 as a main course, or 4 to 6 with 2 or 3 other dishes

• Cooked meat and tomalley and fat from a 2-pound Dungeness crab (about 1/2 pound crabmeat and 1/4 cup tomalley and fat)
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon black pepper, preferably freshly ground
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil
• 1 large shallot or small yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 3 dried wood ear mushrooms, reconstituted (page 334), stemmed, and cut into 1/8-inch-wide strips (about 1/4 cup)
• 1/4 pound cellophane noodles, soaked in hot water until pliable, drained, and cut into 10-inch lengths

1. In a bowl, combine the tomalley and fat, egg, water, fish sauce, pepper, and chopped cilantro and mix well. Measure the mixture; you want about 3/4 cup total. Add water if needed.

2.  In a wok or large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and stir-fry for about 2 minutes, or until soft. Add the crabmeat and mushrooms and stir-fry for about 1 minute, or until aromatic. Add the noodles and continue to stir-fry for about 2 minutes, or until they begin to soften. They noodles will look a bit dry.

3. Give the tomalley mixture a good stir and pour over the noodles. Quickly work the mixture into the noodles to ensure an even distribution of flavors, lowering the heat if the noodles begin to clump. In about 2 minutes, the noodles will become translucent and lightly golden.  

4. Remove from the heat and taste and adjust with extra sprinkles of fish sauce and/or pepper. Transfer to a serving plate and serve immediately.

NOTE: If only blue crabs are available, substitute 9 or 10 crabs (3 1/3 pounds total) for the Dungeness. If you prefer not to use the tomalley and fat, or if there isn't any, use 2 eggs instead of 1 egg and increase the fish sauce in step 1 to 2 tablespoons.

Reprinted with permission from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors by Andrea Nguyen. Photographs by Leigh Beisch. Copyright 2006. Published by Ten Speed Press.

About Into the Vietnamese Kitchen

When author Andrea Nguyen's family was airlifted out of Saigon in 1975, one of the few belongings that her mother hurriedly packed for the journey was her small orange notebook of recipes. Thirty years later, Nguyen has written her own intimate collection of recipes, INTO THE VIETNAMESE KITCHEN, an ambitious debut cookbook that chronicles the food traditions of her native country. Robustly flavored yet delicate, sophisticated yet simple, the recipes include steamy pho noodle soups infused with the aromas of fresh herbs and lime; rich clay-pot preparations of catfish, chicken, and pork; and an array of Vietnamese charcuterie. Nguyen helps readers shop for essential ingredients, master core cooking techniques, and prepare and serve satisfying meals, whether for two on a weeknight or 12 on a weekend.

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Bouillabaisse Toulonnaise

Bouillabaisse, Toulon Style

From "A Pig in Provence", by Georgeanne Brennan, Chronicle Books

Toulon-style bouillabaisse differs from the Marseille style in its inclusion of saffron-infused potatoes, which I happen to love, and sometimes mussels. Otherwise, the two styles are almost identical. A rich fond, or base, made from small fish and fish bones, aromatics, and tomatoes, is sieved, puréed, and brought to a rolling boil to cook various kinds of fish. The dish is served in two courses, the broth first, with garlic-rubbed, dried bread and rouille, a sauce made with garlic and red peppers. Next comes the fish, in chunks and fillets, served Toulon style with the golden potatoes. According to strict tradition, certain Mediterranean fish are required for bouillabaisse, but an excellent meal can be made with Pacific or Atlantic fish or a combination, as long as they are very fresh and not oily.

Buy about 4 pounds of small fish such as assorted rockfish and scorpionfish, small eels, fish heads, and backbones. The fish should not be oily types like sardines, salmon, or mackerel. Add a few blue or other small crabs the size of your hand. Also buy five or six chunks of monkfish and one or two other firm, white fish, plus several whole fish such as flounder, red mullet, and sea bass. Finally, buy 2 pounds or so of mussels, if you want to add these as well.

Lay the monkfish and whole fish on a platter and drizzle them with extra-virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and fennel seeds, rubbing the seeds between your fingers to release their essence. If you have some fresh fennel stalks and fronds, add them, too. Sometimes people add a drizzle of pastis as well.

To make the fond, cover the bottom of a large, heavy-bottomed pot with a film of extra-virgin olive oil and heat it over medium heat. When it's hot, add a chopped leek or two, using only the white part, along with a chopped onion, a goodly amount of chopped garlic, and several tomatoes. It's best to peel the tomatoes first, so that when the fond is pressed through a sieve, the skins won't block the holes. Cook the vegetables, stirring, until they are very soft, about 10 minutes. Add the eels, heads, and bones, and continue to stir until the meat starts dropping away, another 5 to 10 minutes. Add the small fish and crabs, and continue to stir until they start to dissolve, another 5 to 10 minutes. Now add about 3 quarts water, 2 to 3 cups dry white wine such as Blanc de Cassis, a piece of dried orange peel, and several large pinches of coarse sea salt, some ground pepper, and several sprigs of fresh thyme tied together with several sprigs of fresh parsley and a bay leaf. Also add a stalk of fresh fennel, cut into short lengths. If you don't have a fennel stalk, coarsely chop a fennel bulb and add a dash of pastis to the soup. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce to low and let the fond simmer until the meat has fallen away from the bones, about 15 minutes.

While the fond is cooking, make the rouille by crushing a dried cayenne chile, seeds removed and discarded, in a mortar with a pestle. Add three or four cloves of garlic and a pinch of coarse sea salt and grind to a paste. Dissolve a pinch of saffron threads in a teaspoon of hot water, add to the mortar, and blend again into a paste. If your mortar is large enough, continue making the rouille in it, using the pestle. If not, scrape the mixture into a bowl. Whisk in an egg yolk until it is fully blended. Drop by drop, add extra-virgin olive oil, whisking continuously. As the mixture thickens, the oil can be added in a slow, steady stream. Continue to whisk until the mixture is thickened and stiff, like mayonnaise. Set aside. Put slices of baguette on baking sheets and bake in a 300 degree F oven until they are dried but not browned, about 20 minutes. Remove them and rub both sides with garlic cloves.

When the fond is ready, remove it in batches to a fine-mesh sieve placed over a large bowl. Remove the stalks of fennel and the packet of herbs and discard them. Crush the contents, using a wooden spoon to extract all the juices, crushing until only the fish and vegetable debris remains. A food mill is excellent for this process if you have one. Discard the debris and repeat until all the fond has been crushed. Wash the sieve thoroughly. To be sure to catch any small bones, strain the fond again, this time into a clean soup pot. The fond can be prepared up to 12 hours in advance.

When you are ready to cook the fish, heat the fond to boiling and add two or three pinches of saffron dissolved in a little boiling water. Add five or six potatoes that have been peeled and quartered. Cook them for 5 minutes, then add the chunks of firm fish, any large whole fish, the mussels, and finally any fillets. Boil steadily, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes. The fish will become raggedy. The key to doneess is the tenderness of the potatoes. When they can be pierced easily with the tines of fork, remove the pot from the heat and gently lift out first the fillets, then the whole fish, chunks, and potatoes, placing them on a platter. Cover the platter loosely with foil. Add a spoonful or two of the broth to the rouille to smooth it out.

To serve, bring the garlic-rubbed bread and rouille to the table, instructing your guests to put a piece of bread in their soup bowls and top it will a dollop of rouille. Bring the fond to the table and ladle some into each bowl. After everyone has enjoyed the first course, bring out the platter of fish and potatoes. You can fillet the whole fish at the table or in the kitchen before serving it. Give everyone a piece or two of potato and a bit of each kind of fish, placing them in the bowls. Drizzle each serving with a bit of fond and pass the rouille.
Serves 6 to 10

About "A Pig in Provence: Good Food and Simple Pleasures in the South of France"

From the author of Potager: Fresh Garden Cooking in the French Style comes another extraordinary memoir of a woman embarking on a new life--this time in the South of France. Thirty years ago, James Beard Award-winning author Georgeanne Brennan set out to realize the dream of a peaceful, rural existence en Provence. She and her husband, with their young daughter in tow, bought a small farmhouse with a little land, and a few goats and pigs--and so began a life-affirming journey. Filled with delicious recipes and local color, this evocative and passionate memoir, "A Pig in Provence ", describes her life cooking and living in the Provencal tradition--an entrancing tale that will whet the appetite and the spirit--perfect for foodies, Francophiles, or anyone who's dreamed of packing their bags and buying a ticket to the good life.

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Vietnamese Spring Rolls

From "Ethnic Paris" by Charlotte Puckette and Olivia Kiang-Snaije, DK Publishing 2007

It's hard to go wrong with these spring rolls, a fixture in Parisian take-outs, which resemble individually wrapped salads. It takes practice to get nice tight rolls, but once they're in a package, they are neat and easy to eat, healthy, and delicious, with just the right balance of crunchy vegetables and lightly seasoned shrimp. Some of the peanut sauce goes inside the rolls to add punch, but be sure to save enough to serve alongside for dipping.

Serves 5

Lime-Peanut Dipping Sauce

• ½ cup crunchy peanut butter
• ¼ cup unsweetened coconut milk
• ¼ cup lime juice
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Asian chili sauce
• 1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon nuoc mam
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 shallot
• 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 bird's-eye chili
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• ¼ cup roasted peanuts, crushed

Filling

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 large shallots, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 pound shrimp, shelled, deveined, and sliced lengthwise in half
• 1 tablespoon nuoc mam
• 2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
• 5 ounces rice vermicelli
• 1 small seedless cucumber, peeled
• 1 small carrot, peeled
• 1 small green papaya, peeled, halved, and seeded (or substitute jicama)

Vegetable Marinade

• ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 10 6-inch, round rice papers
• 1 head red or green leaf lettuce
• handful each of fresh mint, cilantro, and Asian basil leaves

1. To make the lime-peanut dipping sauce, combine all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and blending until smooth. The sauce can be made 1 day ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat and stir-fry the shallots and garlic until soft, about 30 seconds. Add the shrimp and cook until just pink, about 1 minute. Spoon in the nuoc mam and sesame oil and cook, stirring, until the sauce is slightly reduced and the shrimp are well coated, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl.

3. To cook the rice vermicelli, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add the noodles and cook 3 to 5 minutes, giving the pot a stir from time to time. The noodles are done when soft and white but still firm. Drain and rinse in cold water until cool. Transfer to a bowl and, using scissors, cut the noodles into 4- to 5-inch pieces.

4. In a small saucepan, combine the ingredients for the vegetable marinade and heat over medium heat, stirring until sugar and salt have completely dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour into a medium bowl and let cool completely.

5. Cut the cucumber, carrot, and papaya into large chunks, then grate on a box grater or in a food processor or julienne using a mandoline. Toss with the cooled marinade. Set aside.

6. To assemble, slip a rice paper into a shallow bowl of warm water. Remove after 10 seconds; it should be moist but still slightly stiff. Lay flat on a work surface lined with a paper towel. Tear off a piece of lettuce leaf the size of your palm and place it on the bottom half of the rice paper. Arrange 3 pieces of shrimp on top of the lettuce, then layer ¼ cup of marinated vegetables, a heaping tablespoon of noodles, and several leaves of mint, coriander, and Asian basil. Lastly, dribble a tablespoon of lime-peanut sauce over the ingredients. Fold up the bottom of the rice paper over the filling as tightly as possible, then bring in the sides and roll up to form a tight cylinder. Repeat with the rest of the rice papers and filling.

7. The rolls can be prepared 2 hours in advance and kept at room temperature on a tray lined with slightly damp paper towels, covered with plastic wrap. The rolls should not be refrigerated, as this would toughen the rice paper.

8. Slice each roll crosswise in half on a diagonal and arrange on a lettuce leaf-lined platter. Serve with the remaining lime-peanut dipping sauce.

About Ethnic Paris

Paris is a great food city. Its unrivalled reputation spans the globe. The city's exceptional and delicious culinary scene has been slowly evolving so that today, eating in Paris is no longer limited to traditional French cuisine. Mouth-watering ethnic cuisine cooked, more often than not, by immigrants from former French colonies, has turned Paris into a delight for Epicureans who not only relish a traditional French confit de canard, but who also savor the flavors of a Moroccan prune tagine or a delicate Vietnamese Pho. Ethnic Paris is the first book on the market to focus on the ethnic influences on Paris' haute cuisine; the more than 100 recipes-including starters, main courses, and desserts-are selected and adapted from internationally renowned chefs such as Fatema Hal of the Mansouria restaurant and Hisayuki Takeuchi of Kaiseki-Sushi, as well as from food lovers transplanted from places as varied as Vietnam, Morocco or Cameroon who are now established Parisians but retain their culture through their cuisine. But complex flavors don't necessarily mean complicated recipes. These are easy-to-follow recipes with step-by-step instructions. The regions included in this book are the Maghreb: Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria; Southeast Asia and China: Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and China; Japan; Lebanon and Syria, and a selection of countries from former French West Africa and islands in the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean: Cameroon, Senegal, Reunion, Mauritius and Guadeloupe.

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© 2006, Eric Roth Photography

Malted Milk Ball Cupcakes

• 12 paper liners of your choice
• 2 tablespoons Ovaltine malt powder
• 1 cup malted milk balls, such as Whoppers, finely chopped
• 1 batch batter from Yellow Cupcakes (see below)
• 1/2 batch Classic Confectioners Sugar Frosting (see below)
• 12 whole malted milk balls

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Place paper liners in 12 wells of one 12-cup cupcake tin.

2. Thoroughly stir malt powder and 1/2 cup chopped malted milk balls into the cupcake batter. Divide batter evenly among paper liners. Bake for about 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center shows a few moist crumbs. Cool pans on racks for 5 minutes, then remove cupcakes to cooling racks to cool completely.

3. Beat remaining chopped malted milk balls into frosting. Frost cupcakes using an icing spatula or spoon. Top each cupcake with a single whole malted milk ball. Cupcakes are now ready to serve.

Yellow Cupcakes

Excerpted from "The Baker's Field Guide to Cupcakes", by Dede Wilson. © 2006, used by permission from The Harvard Common Press

• 12 paper liners
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk, at room temperature
  

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line one 12-cup cupcake tin with paper liners.

2. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl to aerate and combine; set aside.

3. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl once or twice. Beat in vanilla extract. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down after each addition, allowing each egg to be absorbed before continuing. Add the flour mixture in 4 additions, alternately with the milk. Begin and end with the flour mixture, and beat briefly until smooth on low-medium speed after each addition.

4. Divide batter evenly among cupcake wells. Bake for about 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center shows a few moist crumbs. The center should also spring back when lightly pressed. The cupcakes might color a bit around the edges, but they will not brown.

5. Cool pan on rack for 5 minutes, then remove cupcakes to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Classic Confectioners Sugar Frosting

Excerpted from "The Baker's Field Guide to Cupcakes", by Dede Wilson. © 2006, used by permission from The Harvard Common Press

Yield: about 3 cups

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces
• 4 cups confectioners sugar, plus an additional 1/2 cup if necessary, whisked before measuring
• 1/4 cup milk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  

In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup confectioners sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl once or twice. Add 1 more cup of sugar and about half of the milk and beat until smooth and creamy. Add 1 more cup of sugar and remaining milk, and beat well, scraping down sides of the bowl. Add remaining 1 cup of sugar and vanilla extract and beat on high speed until very light and creamy, about 5 minutes. Assess texture. If it is too soft, add a portion or all of the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar.

At this point you can continue beating the frosting, if you like, which will make it lighter, creamier, and a little airier. You want it to be as smooth as possible. Frosting is ready to use. (Bring to room temperature and rebeat after storing.)

About "Baker's Field Guide to Cupcakes"

Cute, sweet, and fun to eat, cupcakes are back in a big way! The latest book in the wildly successful Baker's Field Guide, by Dede Wilson,  series contains recipes for 60 deliciously decorated cupcakes for every occasion. Color photographs of each cupcake and a lay-flat binding make this book easy and fun to use. Plus, "field notes" and symbols that explain at a glance the type, description, whether it's kid-friendly, or especially quick to make.

Get A Baker's Field Guide to Cupcakes: Deliciously Decorated Crowd Pleasers for Parties and Holidays at:

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