There might be plenty of fish in the sea, but not everyone knows what to do with them.
Recently, I was watching a Rick Stein travel show in which the British cook toured around Australia. In one segment highlighting fresh Aussie seafood, he suggested making a Chinese-inspired stir-fried crab.
While extolling the produce, Stein attempted a stir-fry with the crustacean, infusing it with aromatics like ginger, spring onion and chillies. It should have been a quick, simple preparation, but it ended up a plodding, overcomplicated dish no sane home cook would want to dabble in.
Normally, I enjoy Stein’s programmes. He is not pretentious, nor a culinary showboat. But in this unfortunate instance, he cooked the hell out of his crab.
First, it was pre-boiled off-screen. Then he dredged the pieces in corn starch and dropped them into hot oil. After flash-frying, he finished it by stir-frying in a wok. Yes, he cooked the crab three times!
Whatever delicate texture the meat might have had, I am sure it was rubberised by the time it was plated. I felt embarrassed by how the ingredient and the Chinese techniques were mangled.
British chef Rick Stein in Sydney, Australia. Photo: Instagram/ricksteinatcoogeebeach
Dining and Cooking