Food Network: Soft-Shelled Crab Hand Roll

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Soft-Shelled Crab Hand Roll
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2001

Ingredients
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Creole mustard
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
4 sheets toasted seaweed (yakinori)
Tempura-fried soft-shell crab, cut into 8 pieces, recipe follows
1/2 avocado, sliced lengthwise
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and sliced into thin batons
Prepared sushi rice (at least 3 cups prepared rice), recipe follows
2 tablespoons finely sliced scallions

1/2 cup baby cress

Directions
In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, mustard, soy
sauce, lemon juice, and horseradish and stir to combine well. Set aside.
Hold one sheet of seaweed in your hand and with the other hand (fingers should be
damp) scoop a small handful of rice and press onto seaweed, leaving 2 of the
diagonal corners free of rice (these will be the top and bottom of the handroll).
Lay 2 pieces of soft-shell crab, several slices of avocado, and some of the
cucumber on top of the rice, and sprinkle with scallions and baby cress. Carefully
begin rolling the roll, ice cream cone-fashion. If the roll does not stay closed
on its own, you can either wet one edge or place a few stray pieces of rice to act
as a "glue". Serve immediately, with some of the sauce spooned over the top.
Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Ingredients
Tempura Soft-shell Crabs:
4 large soft-shell crabs
Dash Essence, recipe follows
1 beaten egg
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 cup cold soda water
Salt and pepper

Directions
Preheat the deep-fat fryer.
To clean the crabs, remove the tail, gills, and eyes. Season with salt and pepper.

Whisk together the essence, egg, flour, cornstarch, soda water, salt, and pepper
into a smooth batter. Dip the soft-shell into the tempura batter, shaking off any
excess. Remove the basket from the fryer. First, carefully holding the top of the
crab, drag the legs through the oil first, for 1 minute. This will allow the
individual legs to fry separately instead together. Then lay the soft-shell,
top-side-down, into the oil. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden, flip the
soft-shell over and continue frying for additional 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the
fryer and allow to drain on a paper-lined plate.

Ingredients
Mitsuko?s Perfect Sushi Rice:
3 3/4 cups Japanese rice, such as Nishiki (or 5 rice maker cups)
3 3/4 cups water (or 5 rice maker cups)
1/2 cup rice vinegar

4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Directions
In a large bowl, add rice and cover with lots of
water. Stir rice in water with your hands, then pour off most of the water, and
agitate 10 to 15 times by quickly moving your hand back and forth, swishing rice
against side of bowl. Rinse the rice several more times, until the water that
drains off of the rice is almost clear. Transfer the rice to a colander and let
drain for 1 hour, undisturbed. Transfer the rice to a rice cooker, add the water,
cover, and cook as directed by manufacturer?s directions.
While the rice is cooking, bring rice vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan, and
then remove from the heat. Add sugar and salt and stir until dissolved. Allow to
cool to room temperature.

When rice is done, allow cooked rice to remain in rice cooker for 10 minutes.
Transfer rice to a large shallow mixing bowl (traditionally a wooden tub, called a
hangiri), so that rice forms a mound in the center of the bowl. Using a diagonal
slicing motion, gently cut into rice with a wooden paddle (called a kijakushi),
and pour cooled vinegar mixture over top of rice. ?Cut? rice several times to
evenly distribute vinegar mixture, then allow to cool. Gently turn rice over from
time to time with paddle so that rice cools evenly. You might want to consider
using a fan if time is of the essence. When rice has cooled to body temperature,
it is ready to use for sushi rolls. Rice can be kept at the proper temperature by
placing it in an insulated container such as a small ice chest, covered with a
damp kitchen towel.
Yield: enough rice for at least 7 large rolls (futomaki)
Essence (Emeril?s Creole Seasoning): 2 tablespoons salt 2 tablespoons garlic
powder 1 tablespoon black pepper 1 tablespoon onion powder 1 tablespoon cayenne

pepper 1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano 1 tablespoon dried thyme
Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.
Yield: about 2/3 cup
Recipe from New New Orleans Cooking, by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch.
Published by William and Morrow, 1993.

Ingredients
Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Directions
Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an
airtight jar or container.
Yield: about 2/3 cup
Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch.
Published by William and Morrow, 1993.