Fresh mud crab salad for the lent!

Yesterday February 25, 2009 many Catholics flock to the church for ash (distribution of ashes reminds us of our own mortality) Wednesday which mark the start of the lenten season for Christians. As a practice, during Lenten season Christians are observe to repent and reflect and abstinence ( does it include sex?) and fasting - refrain from eating poultry and red meat until the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. Anyways, I got this recipe from my favorite chef Kylie Kwong, which is very timely in observance of lenten season. This is a light and refreshing to eat on a hot day. Fresh mud crab salad

Ingredients * 1 x 750 g (11/2 lb) mud crab or blue crab * 2 teaspoons finely diced ginger * 1/4 cup finely sliced red shallots * 1/4 cup finely sliced spring onions (scallions), green part only * 2 tablespoons roughly chopped coriander leaves * 2 tablespoons finely sliced fresh black cloud ear fungus ("tenga ng daga") * 45 g (11/2 oz) pickled bamboo*, cut into julienne * 1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar * 1/4 teaspoon sea salt * 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil * pinch cracked white pepper Method Place crab in freezer for 1 hour, where it will 'go to sleep', then lower into a large stockpot of boiling salted water and cook for 5 minutes. Using tongs, carefully remove the crab from the pot, drain and allow to cool at room temperature. (If you don't want the hassle of buying a live crab, cooking it and picking out the meat, then by all means buy ready-picked crabmeat — it's more expensive, but it'll save you a lot of preparation time.) Twist claws and legs from crab and pull off the top shell. Crack the large claws with the back of a heavy knife or cleaver and extract the meat. Cut along the small legs with scissors, then break them in half and extract the meat. Discard the bony section at the head, rinse body cavity and under the shell where the legs were attached. Cut body of crab into quarters. Using a skewer, extract ('pick') meat from each piece of body, removing any cartilage. When all the meat has been picked, discard all shell and any stray fragments of cartilage. You should have about 200 g (61/2 oz) of cooked, picked crabmeat. Place crabmeat in a bowl and gently combine with the remaining ingredients except olive oil and pepper. Serve salad in bowls, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with pepper. Serves: as a starter for 2-4

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