Crab Fried Rice

Last Year's Post: Edamame Spread
Two Years Ago:  Sausage Sliders with Broccoli Rabe Pesto

There are usually several drawbacks to crab fried rice that you'll find in a restaurant: it contains large amounts of oil and sodium, but very little crab (and what's there is usually claw meat rather than lump crab).  Making your own solves all three, plus you can bump up the nutritional value by adding lots of veggies.  I like LOTS of crab so I did some investigating to discover where to buy the best crab without breaking the bank.  Outside of buying, cooking and shelling crabs yourself, I found the best source to be Costco.  They carry 1 pound tubs of lump crab for around $18, which is an excellent price compared to the smaller cans of crab most grocery stores carry.  (You can find the crab near the meat and deli area at Costco typically.  Not by the tires, underwear, or swing sets.  I love Costco.) It's worth it to check your local sources, especially if you have a good seafood market.  The crab makes all the difference.

Be aware that the rice needs to be cooked and refrigerated for at least several hours, so plan ahead or buy some at the Asian takeout counter in your grocery store.  The ingredient list may look a little long, but after you prep the ingredients it takes all of 10 minutes to stir-fry.  Prepping will take about 20 minutes.  The asparagus can be blanched while you're chopping (multi-tasking is a wonderful thing), and as you finish prepping each ingredient place it in its own little bowl so when you actually start cooking all you have to do is toss things into the pan.

This recipe calls for low-sodium soy sauce, so be sure to taste the rice right before serving to see if it needs a little more salt.  Or, let everyone season to their taste at the table.  And it only calls for a small amount of vegetable oil.  Control the sodium and fat, and bump up the veggies and crab for a better crab fried rice than you could get in any restaurant.

print recipe

Crab Fried Rice

Serves 4

Note: the rice should be cooked and refrigerated for several hours or overnight, so plan ahead.

1 cup uncooked jasmine rice
Pinch ground white pepper

Pinch granulated sugar

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1 cup asparagus tips

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 large eggs

¼ small white onion, finely chopped

1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over for shells

1 clove of garlic, minced

5 scallions, white and light green parts, thinly sliced and divided

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1 jalapeno, stemmed and seeds removed, minced

2 radishes, chopped

½ medium cucumber, thinly sliced into rounds

1 medium tomato--cored, halved and thinly sliced 

Bring 1 ¾ cups of water to a boil in a saucepan, then add the rice and stir.  Cover, turn heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Set aside to cool, then refrigerate covered for several hours or overnight.

Combine the pepper, sugar and soy sauce in a small bowl.  Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil and drop in the asparagus tips.  Cook 2-3 minutes (depending on size) until crisp-tender, then immediately drop into a bowl of ice water to shock.  Drain and set aside. 

At this point you’re ready to start stir-frying, so be sure all ingredients are prepped and ready in small bowls because the process moves fast. Remove the rice from the refrigerator and fluff with a fork to separate any clumps before starting.

In a medium nonstick skillet or wok set over medium-high heat, add the oil and heat until shimmering, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the eggs to the skillet and stir constantly to scramble the eggs, cooking until the egg whites are set, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the cooked rice, sauce mixture, and garlic and stir to combine. Add half of the scallions, peas, asparagus tips, jalapeno, radishes and crab.  Cook, tossing frequently for about 3 minutes, until the rice and crab are heated through and the sauce is incorporated.  Season to taste with salt and additional pepper.

Divide the fried rice between serving bowls and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of scallions. Serve the fried rice alongside the sliced cucumbers and tomatoes.

Toasted Couscous Salad

Last Year's Post:  Coconut Lime Grilled Shrimp with Pineapple Rice
Two Years Ago:    Jewels of Spring

This is a delicious salad that could be either a great side for grilled meats, a stand-alone vegetarian entree, or a more substantial main-dish salad with the addition of some cooked turkey, chicken or shrimp.  The original recipe that came from Giada de Laurentiis called for cooking the couscous first, then frying it in olive oil.  I like the idea of adding some toastiness to the couscous, but frying?  Seriously, I doubt Giada eats anything fried because she looks like she weighs about 90 pounds sopping wet.  I modified the recipe to toast the couscous in a dry skillet before cooking it and was very happy with the result.  It's probably not quite as crunchy as fried couscous, but I just can't imagine all that oil in a nice healthy salad.  Just be careful when you're toasting the dry couscous, because it can go from toasted to burned in about 2 seconds.  Don't take your eyes off it, and stir almost continuously until it's a nice medium golden brown.

In addition to the toasted couscous, the salad contains sun-dried tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, and ricotta salata (or feta) cheese.  Ricotta salata is basically the Italian version of feta - a firm, mild and salty cheese.  Ricotta salata can be hard to find, so a block of feta is an easy substitute.  This is a nice refreshing salad on its own, but you could also add nuts, olives, or anything else you want.

You can use dry or oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, whichever you prefer.  I tried working with the dry version but I find them a little too chewy for my preference, so I use oil-packed.  If you use oil-packed tomatoes,  don't throw away the oil!  It's full of flavor and can be used for vinaigrettes, cooking eggs, drizzled on sandwiches, making paella, or any manner of other dishes.  For this recipe, I used half and half regular olive oil and sun-dried tomato oil for the vinaigrette to give a little more tomato flavor without it becoming overwhelming.

This is a good salad for serving outdoors because it doesn't contain anything like mayonnaise that could spoil.  Think about it for your next grilling party or picnic.

print recipe

Toasted Couscous Salad

Serves 4-6

1 ¼ cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 ¼ cups couscous

4 ounces feta or ricotta salata cheese, cut into ½” pieces

½ English cucumber, seeds removed and cut into ½” pieces

¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

¼ cup grated Parmesan

¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Vinaigrette:

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil (may substitute half from jar of oil-packed tomatoes)

Zest and juice of ½ large lemon

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

In a non-stick skillet, toast the couscous 3-5 minutes until browned, watching very closely and stirring almost constantly to avoid burning the couscous.  Add the broth and stir, cook one minute, cover and place off the heat for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, place the couscous in a medium bowl and add the Parmesan, toss to combine.  Let cool.

While the couscous is cooling, make the vinaigrette by whisking together all the ingredients.

When the couscous is cooled, and the feta or ricotta salata, cucumber, tomatoes, and fresh basil.  Pour the vinaigrette over and toss to combine everything.

Sesame Seed Chicken Salad

Last Year's Post: Linguini alla Puttanesca
Two Years Ago:  Chicken, Gruyere and Fig in Puff Pastry

Salads are a great addition to your weekly dinner rotation during the summer of course, but also during the winter because they're a light and healthy change of pace from heavier winter foods .  The thing that's interesting about this chicken salad is the maple syrup/mustard and sesame seed coating on the chicken, which gives it great crunch and flavor.  It almost tastes deep-fried although it's not.  A combination of black and white sesame seeds is particularly dramatic, but all white seeds would be just as good if you don't want to buy black sesame seeds.  If you're interested, you can buy black sesame seeds at my favorite spice store, Penzeys, here or at your local Penzeys if you're lucky enough to have one in your city.

I also found some great multi-colored cherry tomatoes at my local natural foods store that add color to the salad.

Adding color to your food whenever possible makes it much more visually appealing.  In addition to the tomatoes, chicken and lettuce, the salad contains cucumber and cheese.  I prefer to use English cucumbers (the long thin cucumbers wrapped in plastic wrap) because they have a thinner skin and fewer seeds than regular cucumbers, plus I don't like the waxy coating they (whoever they are) put on regular cucumbers.

The original recipe called for chicken tenders, but a large boneless skinless chicken breast is just as easy to use - all you have to do is cut it into pieces that are about 1- 1 1/2" in diameter and 3-4" long.  The chicken pieces are marinated in a maple syrup and mustard mix for an hour, then rolled in sesame seeds and cooked in a skillet for just a few minutes.  While the chicken is marinating you can make the vinaigrette and chop the salad ingredients, so all you have to do is assemble and serve the salad while the chicken is done.  Easy and healthy!

printable recipe

Sesame Seed Chicken Salad

Serves 4 as a main dish

For the Dressing:

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon sugar

¼ teaspoon pepper

¼ rice wine vinegar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

For the Salad:

½ cup Dijon mustard

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

1- 1/3 lbs chicken tenders, or boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into pieces approximately  1 - 1 ½ “  in diameter and 3-4” long

2/3 cup sesame seeds (preferably a mixture of black and white)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 (5-oz) bags mixed baby greens

½ English cucumber, unpeeled

16 – 20 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese

For the dressing, whisk all ingredients in a bowl or shake in a jar.

For the chicken, whisk mustard and syrup in a bowl to blend.  Add chicken and marinate 1 hour in the refrigerator.

While the chicken is marinating, cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and use a small spoon to remove the seeds.  Cut crosswise into slices.

After the chicken has marinated, remove from the marinade and shake off any excess.  Place the sesame seeds in a shallow bowl and roll the chicken in the seeds to coat on all sides.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Place half the chicken pieces in the skillet and sauté until just cooked through, about 2 minutes per side.  Remove the cooked chicken pieces and repeat with the other tablespoon of oil and remaining chicken pieces.

Toss the lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber with dressing and serve with the cheese and chicken pieces on top.