Hi Robert,

I spoke with you yesterday about the Dungeness crabs I had just received from City Fish, complements of my daughter.  I knew that I wanted to try to replicate the wonderful Roasted Garlic Dungeness crabs and Garlic Noodles my husband and I had enjoyed a few years ago at Thanh Long restaurant in San Francisco.  I was a little concerned about the possibility of overcooking them, since the crabs had been fully cooked before they were shipped to me in Pennsylvania, but after our conversation, I was reassured that they’d be fine after roasting for a short time in the oven.  I did a bit of Googling for a recipe and ended up creating a hybrid of my own.  The results were AMAZING!  I thought you might like to see what dinner looked like last night.

Thanks for your help,

Cindy

Roasted Garlic Dungeness Crab with Garlic Noodles

This is similar to the dishes we enjoyed at Thanh Long restaurant in San Francisco. This recipe is for one crab. Adjust recipe accordingly if cooking two crabs.

INGREDIENTS

For the Roasted Garlic Crabs

1 Dungeness Crab, cooked and cleaned (shell and gills removed)
1 stick unsalted butter/8 tablespoons
1/4 cup minced garlic
3 tablespoons shallots, minced
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
2 teaspoons black pepper, ground (or cracked using a mortar and pestle)
1/4 teaspoon sugar

For the Garlic Noodles

12 to 16 oz yellow noodles (chow mein noodles or lo mein noodles)
Water, for boiling the noodles
1 stick unsalted butter
2 heaping tablespoons minced garlic, or more to taste
1 to 2 tablespoons Maggi seasoning sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce (optional)
1 tablespoon fish sauce (optional)
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

To make the crabs

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Separate the crab claws from the body and quarter the body. Using a mallet, crack the legs and claws.
3. Heat the butter over low to medium heat in a Dutch oven. When it’s almost melted, add the garlic and shallots and sauté 1 to 2 minutes, until the garlic is aromatic but not brown. Add in the chicken bouillon powder, chili flakes, pepper, and sugar. Stir to combine. Add in the crab and toss well until all the pieces are coated with the sauce.
4. Cover the pot and roast in preheated oven for 10 minutes, tossing crab in sauce halfway through.
5. Serve hot over garlic noodles.

To make the garlic noodles

1. Cook the noodles according to directions on the package, being careful not to overcook. Drain and set aside, reserving some of the cooking water.
2. In a large sauté pan, melt the butter over medium to low heat. Add the garlic and sauté until aromatic but not browned. Add all the seasonings into the pan, stir to combine well. Remove from heat.
3. Add cooked noodles to the pan with the sauce. Toss to combine well. Add the Parmesan cheese and toss. Add a little of the cooking water if needed to lighten consistency of the sauce. Serve immediately.