Text 5984, 80 rader
Skriven 2006-09-28 00:56:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av BURTON FORD
Ärende: trip 325
================
 ml-> the north it's not so spectacular but still intriguing,
 ml-> especially if one is into fractals.
 BF> When we flew from Seattle to Alaska the scenery out the starboard
 BF> window kept nagging me with a feeling of familiarity.  I had never seen
 BF> such a range from the air before, but it looked familiar.  We were more
 BF> than halfway through the flight before the word fractals drifted
 BF> through my head and answered my puzzled thoughts.

A closet mathematician, eh. I hear that Benoit Mandelbrot is
going to give one of the Ig lectures this year (one of the
24/7 lectures, in which the scholar has to give a scholarly
rundown of his/her research in 24 seconds and a popular precis
in 7 seconds).

If he has slides of the mountains, he could probably cut the
time in half. It's remarkable what you can see looking out
that little oval window, isn't it. Recently some lady made a
whole book of aerial photos taken on United flights. Many of
them were fractal landscapes.

Chili Crab
cat: main, Singapore, Malaysia
servings: 2 to 4

6 live Blue crabs
- [or 2 Dungeness and/or Malaysian mud crabs
- about 1 1/2 lb each]
4 Tb peanut or vegetable oil
3 Tb garlic, finely minced
2 Tb ginger, finely grated
1 lg egg
salt and pepper
To Combine [Chili Sauce]
5 Tb chili paste or to taste
1 c tomato ketchup [M says use half]
2 Tb sugar
2 Tb rice vinegar or lemon juice
1 Tb dark soy sauce
1/2 Tb soy bean paste [Miso paste] (more to taste)
1 Tb cornstarch
1 cup water

Variation : For Chili Prawns substitute with 1 1/2 to
2 lb jumbo prawns or colossal shrimp. For Chili Lobster
substitute with a 1 1/2 to 2 lb lobster.
 
Clean Blue crabs and cut into halves. Dungeness or Mud 
crabs can be cut into 4. Crack the shells and claws 
ever so gently with a wooden mallet.

In a bowl combine chili sauce ingredients, mix well
Heat peanut or vegetable oil in a hot wok, add garlic, 
ginger and chili paste, stir-fry for 2-3 mins. Add
combined chili sauce ingredients to wok. Bring sauce
to a boil, add salt and pepper to taste. [Note: Miso
paste is salty, therefore taste before adding salt.]
Toss in crabs, stir-fry to coat with the sauce, about 
2 min. Cover and cook crabs over med-high heat until
the shells turn red in color. Lift cover from time
to time to give it a good stir [check the sauce does
not dry up, add some water if necessary].

When crabs are almost fully cooked, push crabs to the
sides of the wok, or remove them with a slotted spoon.
Break an egg into the sauce, stirring gently to form 
yellow and white streaks, then mix in the crabs.
Remove crabs from the wok and keep warm, let stand 10 
min for flavors to meld.

Serve with French baguette to dip into the yummy sauce 
- and have a nice cold one... preferably a Tiger!

[M's note: the traditional bread served with this dish
is man tou (steamed bread) with Wonder-type bread a
second choice.]

MalaysianFood.net
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