Recipe Lotus Root Crab Bake

[The Late Night Gourmet]

I feel embarrassed to call what I did here "en papillote". But, it technically is, since I did seal it and bake it. The path to what you see above starts here:

This is what I picked up (among other things) when I went to a fantastic Asian grocery store recently. Is it possible to over-complicate things? Most assuredly. I ended up not including the bok choi or the baby corn...there wasn't enough room!

I am quite certain that no one will ever make this recipe again (including me), but my adventure is worth recording, since I will definitely try this technique again. The biggest issue was the crab: I decided that I didn't want to add cooked crab to the oven, since I figured it would overcook. So, I added crab in the shell. This makes eating it a challenge, but it worked out.

ingredients

1 cup black rice
1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce
2 ounces lily blossom, sliced
1 teaspoon mustard oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 ounce ginger, grated
4 medium garlic cloves, peeled and grated
(Ginkgo nuts deleted for the safety of potential diners)
4 ounces "seafood mushrooms" or large enoki mushrooms
1 large king oyster mushroom (about 4 ounces), sliced
4 ounces snow pea pods
1 ounce lemongrass, finely chopped
1 ounce salted seaweed, finely chopped
6 ounces lotus root, sliced
8 ounces crab meat
4 tablespoons light butter

Directions

1. Cook the black rice according to instructions; mine called for 1 3/4 cups of water, boiled, then add the rice and simmer for 35-40 minutes. I added the soy sauce to the water. Allow to cool somewhat and set aside.

2. While the rice is being prepared, soak the lily blossom in water. Allow to soak until the rice is done, then discard the water and set the softened blossoms aside.

3. Add oils to a small pan and raise heat to medium. Add garlic, ginger, and lemongrass, and stir continuously until fragrant, about a minute. Allow pan to cool.

4. Set oven to 375°F (190°C). Add contents of the pan (including remaining oil) into a deep pan with aluminum foil draped over the sides. Brush the contents of the pan along the bottom of the foil as much as possible. Spread rice in a layer evenly, then add mushrooms, lotus root, and salted seaweed. NOTE: the salted seaweed is insanely salty, so it provided all the sodium I needed.

5. Add crab, and spoon butter evenly around the pan. Don't worry about being perfect: it will melt and spread out. Seal the foil so there are no openings, taking care to not let the crab shell puncture the foil.

6. Cook for 30-40 minutes, or until the crab shells change to a red color and the crab meat doesn't look gelatinous. Allow crab to cool somewhat, then remove crab from shells. Stir thoroughly, then be glad you never have to make it again.

 

[rascal]

Too complicated for me but it looks real yummy.

Russ

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

Too complicated for me but it looks real yummy.

Russ

Too complicated for me, too, mate.

 

[rascal]

Lol, you're a better man than I. I just like basic and not too many ingredients. Kudos to you.

Russ

 

[CraigC]

And I thought black mole was complicated!

 

[Morning Glory]

I love the sound of this dish - I'm sure cooking the crab in its shell improves the flavour. Did you cook the papillote in the oven? If so what temperature.

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

I love the sound of this dish - I'm sure cooking the crab in its shell improves the flavour. Did you cook the papillote in the oven? If so what temperature.

Sorry...I've added the temperature to the recipe.

One thing I've found (which is of little danger, since I doubt people will try to locate all these interesting ingredients) is that the ginko nuts are quite bitter. I liked what they imparted to the rest of the dish, but they themselves were unpleasant to eat. I had hoped that soaking in all the other flavors would mellow them out a bit. It did, but not enough.

By the way: I seem to have gotten over my Winter Cooking Funk.

 

[Morning Glory]

Re ginko nuts - I'd heard of them but knew nothing about them. From looking on-line I found one reference to a bitter taste Apparently they are also toxic if you eat too many!

The nuts themselves are either bright jade green or amber yellow in color when cooked. They are slightly translucent and glossy. They have a very chewy texture, and in my experience the taste varies. Sometimes they are bitter and other times they remind me of popcorn.

A health warning: Children should not eat more than five ginkgo nuts per day, and adults should not eat more than eight per day. Going over these limits can result in ginkgo poisoning. People who are allergic to mangoes and cashews should not eat ginkgo nuts. Should you decide to harvest your own ginkgo nuts, wear gloves. The ginkgo fruits contain the same plant chemicals found in poison ivy, so the fruit pulp and juice can irritate skin and mucous membranes. Do not eat the ginkgo fruits. Do not eat raw ginkgo

Source: https://www.thekitchn.com/ingredient-spotlight-ginkgo-nu-105591

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

Re ginko nuts - I'd heard of them but knew nothing about them. From looking on-line I found one reference to a bitter taste Apparently they are also toxic if you eat too many!
Source: https://www.thekitchn.com/ingredient-spotlight-ginkgo-nu-105591

Now, that is frightening. I've been picking around them as I eat, but now I may just dig all of them out of the storage container. But, it does go to show that things that taste foul in nature are generally things we shouldn't be tasting. This also explains why some of the products at Asian grocery stores don't have quite the same labeling as more conventional products (if you even read the label, that is).

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

These are the ginkgo nuts that I extracted from my dish. According to the stats that @morning glory found, this amount could have killed me and maybe one of my children! I’m throwing the rest of them away.