Fish and Shellfish Recipes - Crab Meat in Vinegar Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 red (bell) pepper, seeded

• pinch of salt

• 275g/10oz cooked white crab meat, or 2 x 165g/5 1/2oz canned white crab meat, drained

• about 300g/11oz Japanese, Greek or salad cucumber 

For the vinegar mixture:

• 15ml/1 tbsp rice vinegar

• 10ml/2 tsp caster (superfine) sugar

• 10ml/2 tsp awakuchi shoyu

Serves 4

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Method:

1. Slice the red pepper into thin strips lengthways. Sprinkle with a little salt and leave for about 15 minutes. Rinse well and drain.

2. For the vinegar mixture, combine the rice vinegar, sugar and awakuchi shoyu in a small bowl.

3. Loosen the crab meat and mix it with the sliced red pepper in a mixing bowl. Divide among four small bowls.

4. If you use salad cucumber. scoop out the seeds. Finely grate the cucumber with a fine-toothed grater or use a food processor. Drain in a fine-meshed sieve (or strainer).

5. Mix the cucumber with the vinegar mixture, and pour a quarter on to the crab meat mixture in each bowl.

6. Serve cold immediately, before the cucumber loses its color.

Note: A refreshing summer tsumami (a Japanese dish that accompanies alcoholic drinks). For the dressing, use a Japanese or Greek cucumber, if possible - they are about one-third of the size of ordinary salad cucumbers and contain less water.

Variation: The vinegar mixture is best made using awakuchi shoyu. but ordinary shoyu can be used instead. It will make a darker dressing, however.