Tales from the Boat Shed

Passport & Plate - Chilli Crab

New Zealand | Thursday, March 5, 2015 | 5 photos

Ingredients
Green Chilli Paste: (Makes 400g)
125g Green chillies
50g Lemongrass
75g Fresh ginger
2 Medium garlic bulbs
25g Vietnamese mint
100ml Olive oil

Provençale Sauce: (Makes approx. 1 litre)
½ Onion (finely diced)
3 Garlic cloves (finely diced)
50ml Olive oil
50ml White wine
750g Pureed tomatoes
15g Each of Rosemary, tarragon, oregano and marjoram
25g Liquid honey
Salt and pepper

Chilli Sauce:
60g Clarified butter
2 Onions (diced)
4tsp Garlic (crushed)
1 Cinnamon stick
2 Star Anise
6 Kaffir lime leaves
4 tsp Green chilli paste
400ml Provençale sauce
240ml Coconut cream
1 tbsp Fish sauce
2 tbsp Sweet chilli sauce
1 lemon (juice and zest)
400g Cooked crab meat
Salt and pepper

Turmeric Rice:
1½ cups Jasmine rice
2 tsp Turmeric

Garnish:
1 Banana (sliced)
200ml Plain yoghurt

 

How to prepare this recipe
First, make the Provençale Sauce: Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent. Add the white wine and reduce. Add pureed tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Add herbs and honey, continue to simmer for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, but keep the sauce slightly sweet. Set aside.

Next, make the Chilli Paste: Remove the stalks from the chillis, roughly chop ginger and cut the garlic bulbs in half and remove the hard wooden core and first layer of paper from around the outside. Place everything in a food processor and blend until fairly smooth. Store in an airtight container.

Then to make the Chilli Sauce: Sweat off onions, garlic, cinnamon stick, star anise, lime leaves and chilli paste in the clarified butter, without colour. Use more or less chilli paste depending on how hot you like your chilli. Less for medium, more for hot etc. Next add the Provençale sauce, coconut cream, fish sauce, sweet chilli sauce and gently heat through. Finally add lemon juice and zest. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Meanwhile, cook the rice according to the instructions on the packet. Drain and stir in the turmeric.

Add the crab meat to the sauce for just a few minutes to heat through.

Serve the rice with the chilli crab on top. Garnish with the banana and yoghurt and perhaps the crab claws, if you haven’t already taken the meat out of them!

 

The story behind this recipe
My first visit to The Boat Shed was in the late 90s. I’d just graduated and hadn’t found a proper job. So I travelled on my own, for the first time, to visit my beloved Grandpa, who had emigrated to Nelson in New Zealand at the age of 80. It didn’t take me long to fall in love with Nelson and its arty vibe; it took even less time to fall in love with The Boat Shed’s Chilli Crab. A love affair, that’s stood the test of time. This wooden shed, sitting on the water, began life as a boat building business in the late 1800s. Over the years, it became the base for a ferry service and a crab fishing business. In the mid-1990s, some bright soul turned it into a café. The Boat Shed was Grandpa’s favourite and he took me there for lunch. From our table, we had stunning views over the sparkling bay. They served water in glass bottles in the shape of fish and played Hootie and the Blowfish songs on the stereo – a chilled out vibe, symbolic of those carefree days. I’d never eaten crab before, but the Chilli Crab caught my eye. Here was my first, messy attempt at cracking claws with a nutcracker, as well as a welcome introduction to Pacific-rim cuisine. The vibrant, hot flavours of chilli, tomatoes and aromatic Asian spices sang out from the dish, tempered by cooling yoghurt and slices of banana. Over the years, I made several visits to The Boat Shed, mostly at sunset, to eat the Chilli Crab. The Shed became a special place to our family. I have lovely memories of meals there, with my parents and friends. It was the place Grandpa chose to propose to his Kiwi wife. Sadly my last visit to New Zealand was over ten years ago, while backpacking around the world. I’d just lost Grandpa and made a special trip to The Boat Shed in homage to him. This time, there was no Chilli Crab on the menu. The crabs weren’t big enough to fish. Instead, I did the next best thing and bought their cookbook, containing the recipe. Then carefully carried it home as I continued my journey around the world.