Served as main course. Non-vegetarian dish.

Thai

3 oz Dried Mung Bean thread Noodles

1 Dungeness Crabs

1/2 teaspoon Black Peppercorns

1 Tablespoon Chopped fresh Coriander Root

4 Garlic Cloves

1 teaspoon Sugar

1 Tablespoon Golden Mountain Sauce, or dark Soy Sauce

1 Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce, or Thai Fish Sauce

2 teaspoon Oyster Sauce

1 Tablespoon Rice Wine, or dry Sherry

1 teaspoon Asian Sesame Oil

2 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil

3 qt Slices of Ginger, crushed

4 Red Chilies, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

6 oz Medium Shrimp

4 Green Onions, cut into 2-inch lengths

1 - 1/2 cup Water

1 lb Fresh Fish Fillets, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 lb Large Squid, cleaned, cut crosswise into 1-inch rings

1/2 cup Thai sweet Basil Leaves

Fresh Coriander Sprigs

Put the mung beans into a bowl and cover with warm water; soak until soft and pliable, about 10 minutes. Drain. Set aside. If you are using a cooked crab, have the fishmonger crack it into large pieces. To clean a live crab, be careful, and use a brush to scrub its underside and between the claws and legs to loosen the sand and grit. Rinse thoroughly with cold water. Plunge the crab into boiling water for a minute to kill it. Remove. When cool, clean, disjoint and chop the crab into large chunks. In a mortar or spice mill, pound or grind the peppercorns first, then add the coriander root and garlic, and work it into a paste. Mix together the sugar, Golden Mountain, soy and oyster sauces, rice wine and sesame oil in a bowl. Pour the vegetable oil into a 3 1/2-quart sandy clay pot casserole (or a Dutch oven) and set over medium heat. Add the coriander-garlic- pepper paste and saute lightly. Increase the heat to high. Add ginger, chilies and raw crab pieces; toss and brown for a minute. Add the shrimp an green onions to crab mixture; stir-fry for 30 seconds. Pour in the soy sauce mixture and mung bean noodles; toss and mix together. Stir in the water, cover pot, reduce heat to medium and braise for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the noodles seem dry, add more water. Increase heat to medium-high, and gently stir in the fish and squid (and cooked crab if using), mix with the noodles, top with the basil leaves. Cover and cook for 3 to 5 minutes longer. Check for doneness. Garnish with fresh coriander sprigs. Bring the clay pot to the table and serve hot with rice and vegetables.

Serves: 4

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