Curry crab salad.

So it seems as though summer has finally started to creep up on Seattle. It's been sunny for like three days straight and they say it might even reach 75 degrees today. Crazyness! To celebrate days like this I enjoy eating nice and light. Salads, tapas, sandwiches, cocktails, you know, light meals. The market had some beautiful shelled dungeness crab meat and I recently looked through one of my old Thai cookbooks that has a great recipe for curried crab. I thought I'd summer up the dish a little bit by turning it into a salad.

Thai Curry Crab Salad

1 Tbsp minced lemongrass (just the soft white parts)
2 Tbsp minced ginger
3 minced cloves of garlic
2 Tbsp yellow Thai curry paste
2 tsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp fish sauce
1/2 Tbsp palm or brown sugar
1 cup coconut milk

1 lb fresh crabmeat
3 scallions, thinly sliced
2 Thai chilies, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 bunch cilantro

In a hot pan with a little peanut oil quickly stir fry the lemongrass, ginger, and garlic. When the aromatics start to get soft add the curry paste and fry that for a few minutes. Then add the soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar and coconut milk. Mix well and simmer until it reduces a bit and becomes a little bit thicker. Taste and season with salt if needed. Remove from heat and chill.

Mix together the crabmeat, scallions, chilies, sprigs of cilantro, and lime. Add about half of the curry and mix well. Add more if needed. Serve with sesame crackers and some nice greens.