Porridge with King Crab and Shrimp

This is a fabulous fancy seafood porridge (sorta oxymoronish). You'll love this one - king crab and shrimp, garnish with fried shallots, scallion and cilantro. This pot will last a few days and will feed a worthy dinner party.

Awesome Crab Shrimp Porridge

• 1 ½ cups uncooked jasmine rice
• 20 medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and butterflied
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 heaping tablespoons fresh minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 3 tablespoon chopped ginger
• salt and pepper
• 5 medium king crab legs, cooked, cleaned and peeled (I don't use claws)
• 5 eggwhites
• 2 handfuls of baby carrots, peeled and sliced into thin disks
• garnish: fried shallots, chopped cilantro, chopped scallion and fresh pepper

Do it:

(1) In a 5 quart pot, bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. Add 1 ½ cups of uncooked jasmine rice and 2 tablespoons (of the 3T) of fresh chopped ginger. Cover and let simmer while you prepare everything else, stirring occasionally. (Best results have the porridge simmering for at least an hour.)

(2) Prepare and marinate the shrimp. In a separate bowl, add the butterflied shrimp. Add 1 tablespoon sugar, 2 heaping tablespoons minced garlic, 2 tablespoon fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of the remaining ginger, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper. Mix and set aside.

(3) Back to the pot. Bring the porridge to a light boil and pour in the eggwhites. Using a long spoon, stir the eggwhites quickly for about 1-2 minutes or until the eggwhites turn into opaque white strands. 
(4) Add the sliced carrots.

(5) Add the shrimp mixture while the porridge is at a light boil. Stir until the shrimp begin to curl and turn a bright orange. 

(6) Add the peeled king crab meat. Stir.

(7) Serve in individual bowls. Garnish with fried shallots, chopped cilantro, chopped scallion and fresh grated pepper.

Do it with pictures!
In a 5 quart pot, fill 3 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Add uncooked rice and 2 tablespoons of chopped ginger. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cover. I got spaced here and let my little pot boil over (again!). See my mess below :( Check and stir often for about 1 hour.

I keep frozen peeled-deveined-tail-on medium size shrimp (from Costco's freezer section). Thaw the shrimp in a bowl of warm water. Pull off the tails and cut a deep butterfly.

To marinate the shrimp, add 1 tablespoon sugar...

And 2 tablespoon fish sauce.

And some fresh pepper, about 5 turns from a grater. I like it peppery.

And 2 heaping tablespoons of fresh minced garlic...

And 1 heaping tablespoon fresh chopped ginger. Set aside.

For the 5 eggwhites, just separate 5 eggs, tossing the yolk.

With sharp kitchen scissors and gloves, shell/peel the king crab legs, setting the crab meat aside. King crab legs are sold at the local grocery precooked and frozen. Just thaw 'em.

It's a dirty and rough job. Wear gloves!

By this time, the water and rice in the pot should be thickening into a porridge. Add in the eggwhites to the pot.

Bring the pot to a light boil while stirring quickly until the eggwhites turn into opaque white strands.

Then add the sliced carrots.

Still at a light boil, add the shrimp mixture. Stir. Stir.

When the shrimp start to curl and turn orange, lower the heat to simmer. Add the crab meat. Put a lid on it and let simmer until you are ready to serve. Make sure you cover it or else a thin gooey layer will form on top of the porridge.

While the soup simmers, prepare the garnishes if you haven't done so. To make fried shallots, chop up some shallots.

In a frying pan, lightly coat with olive oil. Heat on high. Add the shallots. Let cook, stay put until they turn a golden brown. Stir maybe once.

Add some salt and pepper.

Transfer the fried shallots of a plate lined with paper towel to soak up excess oil. This will store in the fridge for about a week. Add the fried shallots to everything - a salad, vegetables, eggs, etc.

Chop some scallion and cilantro. Store extra in a sealed container.

To serve, ladle some porridge into a deep soup bowl, include pieces of shrimp and crab in each serving.

Garnish with a generous amount of scallion, cilantro, fried shallots and fresh pepper. Serve immediately!

Mmmm...some crab...

Ah, a shrimp! People will LOVE THIS.

Adamo is here teaching me how to teach my kids... math facts, linguistics, vocab... The house is filled with Broadway songs, kenken, banana-grams. "3 is a Magic Number" by Schoolhouse Rock is on YouTube. I'm getting back into the mood again :) Adamo, thanks for everything!