Dungeness Crab Rice

In California’s Half Moon Bay, crab season is a big deal. It’s tough work navigating the ocean, crabbing restrictions, weird knots, tough captains and the crabs themselves. But, as chef Scott Clark writes in his new cookbook, “You don’t often feel so alive.”

His Dungeness Crab Rice dish is featured in his new cookbook, “Coastal,” published by Chronicle Books on March 4.

“This is not fried rice; it’s delicate, fragrant, and light. Asian pear elevates the crab’s sweetness. Chrysanthemum greens, available at Asian markets, accentuate the depth of flavor of a beast from the ocean floor. If you don’t want to kill a crab, or if Dungeness isn’t available, lump crabmeat is all good,” he says.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon sesame oil

5 shallots, cut into paper-thin slices on a mandoline

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger

1/2 cup peeled, diced Asian pear

4 cups cooked short-grain white rice

2 tablespoons white soy sauce

1 pound fresh Dungeness or lump crabmeat

6 green onions, thinly sliced

1 cup roughly chopped chrysanthemum greens, baby spinach, tatsoi, or bok choy

Hot sauce, for serving

Chile Jam (below), for serving

Sweet Soy Glaze (below), for serving

DIRECTIONS

In a medium Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat the sesame oil. Reserve a handful of shallots for garnish and add the rest, along with the garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon and adding a few drops of water to release any stuck bits that might burn, until the veg are deeply caramelized, 6 to 8 minutes.
Add the Asian pear and cook, stirring, until it has some color, 2 to 3 minutes more. Add the rice and white soy sauce and stir to incorporate everything. Kill the heat, then gently fold in the crab.
Garnish the rice with the reserved shallot, the green onions and the greens. Drop the pot on the table with the condiments on the side.

Sweet Soy Glaze

Makes about 1 cup

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup tamari

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup bonito flakes

1- by 1-inch piece kombu

DIRECTIONS

In a small saucepan, bring the tamari, honey, and ½ cup water to a boil. Pour the mixture into a heatproof container.
Stir in the bonito flakes and kombu, then cover and let it marinate in the fridge for at least 12 hours.
Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a fresh container. It keeps, in the fridge, for up to 1 month.

Chile Jam

Makes 2 cups

INGREDIENTS

2 red bell peppers

6 jalapeños

Oven-Dried Tomatoes (see below) with their oil

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1½ cups packed dark brown sugar

6 tablespoons champagne vinegar

Juice of 2 lemons, preferably Meyer

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon fish sauce

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

DIRECTIONS

In a cast-iron pan over high heat, or directly on the burners of a gas stove set to high, char the bell peppers and jalapeños, rotating them, until you burn the living daylights out of them on all sides, about 10 minutes. Drop the peppers and jalapeños into a paper bag, close it up tight and let them cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes. Peel the peppers and jalapeños by rubbing them with a paper towel to remove the charred skins. Discard the stems. Halve 3 of the jalapeños lengthwise and remove their seeds.
Transfer the peppers and jalapeños to a food processor, then add the oven-dried tomatoes and their oil, garlic and ginger and pulse until chunky. Pour the mixture into a Dutch oven. Stir in the brown sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, soy sauce, fish sauce and salt and bring the mixture to a ripping boil. Knock the heat down to a simmer, stirring every couple of minutes, until almost all of the liquid is gone and a wooden spoon can part the mixture like Moses, about 1 hour. Let the jam cool to room temperature, then stow it in the fridge. It keeps, in the fridge in an airtight container, for up to 3 weeks.

Oven-dried Tomatoes

Makes about 3 cups

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds Early Girl or other medium tomatoes (about 8 tomatoes)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

6 to 8 cranks black pepper

8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

12 fresh thyme sprigs

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided use

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Line a sheet pan with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
Core and halve the tomatoes crosswise. Lay them cut-side up on the prepared pan and sprinkle them with the salt and pepper. Scatter the garlic and thyme over the tomatoes, then drizzle everything with 1/4 cup olive oil. Bake until the tomatoes are curling at the edges and half-jammy, half-juicy, about 5 hours. Let the tomatoes cool until you can touch them, then peel and discard their skins and the thyme. Put the tomatoes and garlic in a jar and pour the remaining ¼ cup olive oil on top. They’ll keep, in the fridge, for up to 2 weeks.

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