Spicy Crab Salad

sponsored by Dandelion Vineyard, McLaren Vale

Fresh, vibrant and full of flavour. That's how I would describe this delicious spicy crab salad with vermicelli noodles.

How spicy is it you ask? That my friend, depends upon you and how much red chilli you put into it. I have used fresh spanner crab in my Asian crab salad but feel free to use whatever crab meat your local store carries.

Why I Love This Asian Crab Salad

4 minutes of cooking time - and that's literally just to boil the noodles! All you need to make this epic spicy crab salad is a chefs knife, chopping board and a large mixing bowl!

Most of this dish can be prepared in advance and tossed together at the 11th hour aka just as your guests arrive. I always say when entertaining as nice as it is to look "flash" in the kitchen chopping, cutting, stirring and don't forget sweating I MUCH prefer kicking back with a glass of wine "pretending" I am listening to the latest gossip from the women where as in fact I am staring vacantly out the window wondering if I should buy the latest driver for my golf set 😉 ssshhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Crab Salad Ingredients

There are a few............ Don't be put off by the list of ingredients below. Many of them are items you might have in the pantry or at least after making this the first time will have them in the pantry afterwards.

There are a lot of fresh ingredients used in this spicy crab salad recipe. Cabbage, carrots, beansprouts, onions, herbs and chilli too. Most of these are relatively inexpensive too. To be honest the only expensive ingredient is the crab itself. I get beautiful spanner crab from my local fish store - Fresh Fish Co but these days the supermarkets often have good crab meat vac packed in the deli section or you could use tinned crab meat too.

Dressing For Crab Salad

Keeping it simple here - 4 ingredients and the job is done. There is so much flavour and texture in the spicy crab salad that you don't need a ton of dressing either.

Simply whisk up some soy, grated ginger, lime juice and brown sugar and you are good to go. This can also be prepared in advance to make serving it quicker for dinner parties!

Dandelion Winery

You have seen (and hopefully read) me write about the guys from Dandelion Vineyards before. I was very lucky to work with their sister winery Heirloom last year on a number of recipes including - duck w/ rhubarb & beet ketchup, Spanish fish stew and grilled octopus salad. This time I am creating a number of recipes to pair with the delicious Dandelion wines. I raved about Heirloom and was worried would they be able to back it up again. Boy have they what!

There are 20+ wines in their portfolio. I have tasted, I think, 10 at this stage and once again am VERY happy to be collaborating with these guys. Elena Brooks, the mastermind (alongside hubby Zar) are doing wonderous things with parcels of fruit around the Barossa.

This week and many other weeks I am enjoying their "top shelf" Riesling Wonderland of the Eden Valley. Read on to see my 'not so professional' wine notes and a little nerdy info on the wine too 😉

Riesling Food Pairing

Riesling wine is incredibly versatile with food - prob because there are so many styles of Riesling. I won't bore you with the technical details (truthfully as I don't know them all) but in simple terms Riesling ranges from dry to sweet to dessert wines with multiple levels/layers in between.

I personally like Riesling with simple fresh flavours and or nice and spicy Asina style dishes. Hence why I decided to make a spicy crab salad for the Dandelion Vineyards flagship Riesling. This dish can be as spicy as you desire (through the addition of chilli) but it's also fresh and vibrant with beansprouts, sugar snaps, mint, coriander and lime to name a few ingredients.

The Wonderland Riesling is made from vines planted in 1912 so they are knocking on the door of 110 very soon. Not sure about you but I don't know any 110 year olds that are this fresh 😉 Rated 96 points and I can see why the wine is dry with good minerality, lovely citrus notes in the form of lemon and lime and a touch of green apple too. Racy acidity, with some steeliness too it's a wine that doesn't last long in the glass. One that is drinking beautifully but will also reward those with patience to age it!

Bonus points for it's low alcohol content too!

Alternative Recipes Using Crab

Inspired by my delicious spicy Asian crab salad? Then check out these other delicious crab dishes from myself and fellow food bloggers too - enjoy!

Coconut Corn Soup w/ Crab, Charred Corn & Pickled Onion by Yours Truly

Venetian Crab Linguine by Marie Roffey of 'Sugar Salt Magic'

Vietnamese Soft Shelled Crab by Abbe Odenwalder of 'This Is How I Cook'

Crab Stuffed Mushrooms by Kathy Berget of 'Beyond The Chicken Coop'

Happy Cooking & Happy Eating Friends!

Asian Crab Salad

Fresh, vibrant & maximum flavour!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe

Prep Time: 13 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Mains, Starters

Cuisine: Asian, Australian

Keyword: Asian Crab Salad, Crab Noodle Salad, Crab Salad, Spicy Crab Salad

Servings: 4 people

Author: AnotherFoodBlogger

Ingredients

• 250 g crab meat (9oz)
• 100 g red cabbage (4oz)
• 2 spring onions
• 1 carrots
• 10 snowpeas
• beansprouts (4oz)
• 2 red chilli
• 10 g mint x 10g (.5oz) handful
• 15 g coriander (.5oz) handful
• 50 g crispy shallots (2oz)
• 2 tsp sesame seeds x 2 tsp
• 50 g peanuts (2oz) chopped
• 1 bundle vermicelli noodles

Dressing

• 60 ml lime juice (4 tbsp)
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp soy sauce

Instructions

Dressing

• Mix all ingredients together and set aside in the fridge until ready to use

Salad

• Cook the vermicelli noodles according to the packet – refresh and set aside until ready to use
• Finely slice the red cabbage
• Finely slice the snowpeas & chilli at an angle
• Slice the carrots into thin matchsticks aka julienne
• Mix the beansprouts, cabbage, snowpeas, chilli, carrots, herbs, spring onions, noodles, ½ the peanuts, ½ the sesame seeds, ½ the crispy shallots & ½ the crab meat together.
• Add the dressing and toss to combine
• Top the salad with remaining crab, peanuts, sesame seeds & crispy shallots
• Serve with a delicious glass of Dandelion Riesling!

Notes

Essential Tools

• chef knives
• chopping board
• measuring utensils
• large mixing bowl
• small mixing bowl
• whisk
• saucepan
• sieve

Tips/Tricks

• all the ingredients can be prepared in advance if serving at a dinner party. Just don’t add the ingredients together until serving to keep them fresh & crunch
• keep your chef knives sharp – this will help with even slices but also minimise the risk of injury to yourself

Tried this recipe?Mention @another_food_blogger or tag #cookinginbrissie!