VANCOUVER — I'm feeling crabby. And no, the mood has nothing to do with any gripes I might have about recently reviewed restaurants. It's my own kitchen that I'm worried about.
Dungeness crab season has arrived. Well, not exactly. Here in British Columbia, this luscious West Coast delicacy is available all year round.
Many will argue that the hefty crustaceans are tastiest in winter. These purists, mind you, are usually Americans who are stuck with a shorter commercial season.
Others say that August is the optimal time for the northern summer harvest, because the shells have hardened up nice and thick and the meat is firm and dense (or, at the very least, they say it's healthier for the fishery).
Me? I think Dungeness crab is the ultimate feast any time, but even better in summer.
There's nothing like rolling up your sleeves on a warm, lazy night and cracking into a mess of freshly steamed crab. It's a casual, social meal that can last for hours while you pick at the sweet, white meat and suck the shells dry.
With its delicate flavour and briny tang, Dungeness goes down great with a crisp sauvignon blanc or cleansing lager. I find it also pairs well with fresh corn on the cob. And I actually enjoy it most served cold, when the taste is more intense.
Yes, I eat a lot of crab. The recreational fisherman in my life brings it home almost every weekend. Last year, he caught so much I got sick of it. I honestly didn't think I could stomach another pincer.
Okay, I can sometimes be a princess.
For the sake of my relationship, I've decided to start spicing up the pantry. No more boring boiled crab with garlic butter for us. Fortunately,
there are many talented chefs in Vancouver to help stir the pot. Herewith, a few summer crab specials that have caught my eye:
SPICY
Prima Taste Restaurant is promoting its signature Singapore Chili Crab for a discounted (but highly conditional) price of $25 until Aug. 31.
The wok-fried crabs, at about 2 to 2½ pounds each, are big enough for two people to share as a main course. And the sauce - a spicy tomato base tossed with tons of garlic and thickened with oily candlenut, similar to macadamia - is gloriously rich. Sop it with a side of roti prata, a flatbread as flakey as a croissant.
I appreciate that this dish comes with a big hunk of the crab's creamy, bitter-tasting mustard (or innards). But the chef is a little too chop-happy with the cleaver. Less sharp shell shards, please.
To take advantage of the special price, however, you really need to share with about four people. The $25 promotion is limited to one crab per table (subsequent crabs cost $38, which still isn't a bad deal for the size). But you also have to spend an additional $60, not including crab or tax.
Then again, you could always head down to T & T Supermarket and grab a package of Prima Taste's Singapore Chili Crab sauce. The restaurant is a chain with its own line of ready-to-cook pastes. See you in Aisle 3.
SWEET
I have unfortunately not yet tasted the Dungeness crab with kabocha pumpkin hotpot at Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant, but I've heard nothing but raves.
This modern Cantonese restaurant in Richmond doesn't always advertise this dish on its menu, but it's usually available and certainly is right now, for $40.
The chef takes a whole Dungeness crab and fries it with fermented black beans and slightly steamed cubes of this exceptionally sweet Japanese squash. The pot is delivered to the table and simmered on top of a butane burner until the squash and black-bean mixture melts around the crab like some wild combination of salty taffy.
"It's quite interesting and gorgeous," Wallace Chan, the restaurant's assistant manager, says over the phone.
"Would you like to make a reservation?"
Yes, right away.
SALTY
Over at Senova Restaurant, Manuel Ferreira is serving Portuguese-style crabs from a slightly modified traditional recipe.
The chef takes a lightly boiled crab, about 1½ pounds, breaks it all up and sautés it with butter, white wine, onion, garlic, ginger and cilantro. Then he removes the briny mustard and blends it in a food processor with egg, mayonnaise, bread crumbs and parmesan. The creamy mix is poured back in the top shell, browned in the oven and served as warm mousse for dipping.
Again, I haven't yet tasted this dish at the restaurant, where it costs $28 and is only available on Tuesday nights unless you call ahead to order.
But I am going to try to make it at home.
The original Portuguese recipe calls for quiejo serra, a much saltier cheese that is hard to come by in Canada. Mr. Ferriera adds the egg to bind the dip, which he says is otherwise quite watery.
He suggests pairing the dish with the richly oaked Quinta do Ameal reserve, which the restaurant brings in on special order, or with an aromatic Spanish rosé.
Bring out the bibs.
UMAMI
When Elixir's Don Letendre eats crab at home, he says it's only ever steamed whole and simply served with melted butter.
Lucky for us, he's got a whole kitchen crew to help crack and clean the hugely labour-intensive, Indochine-style Dungeness crab tasting menu he is now offering.
The meal - which I did eat - starts with chilled chawan mushi, an Asian custard set with pickled ginger and big pieces of shelled crab. Try to imagine a savoury crème brûlée.
The crab shells are put to good use in the second course - a spicy coconut bisque that's blended with a complexly layered chicken stock, bursting with galangal, garlic, coriander, scallions and ginger.
The third course is nori-wrap "cannelloni" stuffed with a taste-bud-popping mix of steamed crab meat, Japanese chili, béchamel, coriander, chili and butter. The roll is wrapped in a second crispy layer of gossamer-thin bean curd skin and served with curry-lime broth.
Dessert is a poached peach melba with asti spumanti cream.
Sure, maybe I could pull off the last course at home.
But with the whole dinner priced at only $35, why would I bother? This special is a steal. Go get it while you can - until Aug. 31.
Prima Taste Restaurant,
570 Robson St.; 604-685-7881
Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant, 3711 No. 3 Rd., Richmond;
604-232-0816
Senova Restaurant, 1864 W. 57th Ave.; 604-266-8643
Elixir, 350 Davie St.;
604-642-0557
