This is definite Em’s signature dish.  A little fusiony (I am aware that is not a word but I just made it one) and with the ever present crunchy Asian style salad on top.  You may be getting sick of this style of dish but personally, I never will.  It was almost like eating a creamy pasta with the slippery fettuccine-like rice noodles, coated in a fresh and zesty, made-from-scratch green curry sauce. It was really quick and tasted so much better than the jar variety.  Making the paste from scratch also allows you to control the chilli content as sometimes the green variety can be rather lip swelling (in my Son’s experience).  Crab can also be a little expensive but a little goes a really long way and no fear, you do not have to pick the crab meat from the crab.  Your fishmonger sells it in a handy tub!  I really loved this dish.

 

If you can’t get crab or don’t like it, this would be really nice with chopped prawns, about 200-300gm of prawn meat ought to do it.

 

Prep time:   30 Minutes               Cooking time:  15 Minutes             $$  Medium Budget

 

Serves 4  (perfect for a wee dinner party)

 

220gm tub of crab claw meat (available at most seafood shops)

400gm tin of coconut cream

Juice of 1 lime

2 tbs of fish sauce

1 level tbs of palm or slightly less of brown sugar

4 serves of flat rice stick noodles

150gm of snow peas, strings removed and julienned (sliced thinly top to bottom)

 

For the Curry Paste:

 

2 garlic cloves

3 cm piece of ginger, roughly chopped

1 stalk of lemon grass, finely chopped

2 spring onions, roughly chopped

4 Kaffir lime leaves

3 long green chillies, roughly chopped (I removed the seeds but optional)

1 bunch of coriander roots and stems, very well washed to get rid of any grit

1 tsp of dried shrimp paste

2 tbs of fish sauce

1 tsp of palm or brown sugar

 

For the Crunchy Topper:

 

1 cup of bean sprouts

A handful of snow pea sprouts, bottoms trimmed and discarded

2 spring onions, finely sliced on the diagonal

1/2 cup of toasted coconut flakes

 

Place all the ingredients for the curry paste in the food processor and pulse until you have a nice fine paste.  Reserve half for this dish and freeze the rest for later use.

 

Place the bean sprouts, snow pea sprouts and spring onions in a small bowl and cover with iced water.  Drain just before serving and toss through the toasted coconut.

 

Bring a large pot of water to the boil and cook the noodles for 6-8 minutes.  Drain and run under hot water to rinse.

 

Heat a wok or large pot and add a little oil.  Fry the curry paste for 1-2 minutes or until aromatic.  Add the coconut cream, fish sauce, lime juice and sugar and stir to combine.  Bring the mixture to a simmer.  Simmer for 5 minutes before adding the crab and snow peas, stir and cook for a further 2 minutes before adding the drained noodles.  Toss well to combine.

 

Divide the crab curry between four serving bowls and place a nice pile of the crunchy salad on top to serve.