Thai Crab and Mango Salad

Alright, again, I do apologize for the lack of a post on Wednesday, but I must say, I'm completely less stressed out... although I do have a test on Monday that I should be studying for... but that's what Sunday is reserved for.

This weekend is a pretty big weekend I should say. Louisville is home to the biggest fireworks show in the U.S. - Thunder Over Louisville. The masses gather around, on the Indiana and Kentucky sides of the Ohio River, get drunk, watch some air shows, eat some food, watch the fireworks, and then proceed to bitch and complain about the 20-30 minutes they spend in traffic on the way home. Great time right? Right. Personally... I think it's overrated... once you've seen fireworks, you've seen fireworks... I mainly go because of one reason... a nice fried funnel cake dusted with powdered sugar... and possibly an occasional foot long corn dog, but not necessary. Yep... nothing like a redneck making you a funnel cake... makes me quite content.

So to make myself feel better about eating some not-so-healthy food this weekend... I'm going to post a recipe for a really delicious salad that is pretty healthy... they counter balance eachother right?


Ingredients:
Adapted from Food & Wine's March 2010 issue - "Thai Crab-and-Green-Mango Salad"

1 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 mexican red chiles, seeded and minced
3 carrots, peeled and julienned
juice from 1 lemon
juice from 1 tangerine
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon sambal oelek
1/3 cup water
2 mangoes, peeled and julienned
2 cucumbers, peeled and julienned
2 bunches of watercress, washed and thick stems discarded
1 tablespoon basil paste
small handful cilantro, chopped
1 lb. jumbo lump crab
3 scallions, thinly sliced

I think the prep work is what take a lot of time in this recipe. There's tons of color and flavor here and it's definitely worth the time for everything. Trust me on this one.

In a medium bowl, combine the vinegar, 1/4 cup sugar, and half of the garlic and chiles. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Add the carrots and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour for a quick pickling of sorts.

In another medium bowl, combine the lemon juice, tangerine juice, shallot, fish sauce, sambal oelek, and water. Stir in remaining garlic, chiles, and 1 tablespoon sugar. Mix until sugar is well dissolved. This is your dressing... and it's phenomenal.

In a large salad bowl, combine the mango, cucumbers, watercress, basil paste, and cilantro. Drain the carrots, shaking off any extra liquid, and add into the bowl as well. Stir in the dressing and toss well. Place big portion on large plates and top with lump crab meat. Garnish with the scallions and dig in!

This was absolutely a knock out dish for me. The color, the flavor, the presentation. It was all just beautiful. I mean, look at that dish! You want to eat it now! The mango plays such a great contrast to the sweet crab meat. Seriously, you must try this dish now... it's great! Enjoy!