I came up with this sauce, which is a hybrid between Asian and Spanish, when I was cooking some king crab legs, and it was a major hit. The sauce relies on fresh ingredients -- ginger, lemongrass, a few celery leaves -- quickly sauteed and tossed in the blender to combine. I'd use this sauce with all kinds of seafood besides crab: shrimp, swordfish, mackerel, yellowtail, sturgeon, halibut -- anything that is pretty firm. This recipe makes enough to serve 4.
Ingredients:
- 3 finely chopped shallots
- 3 chopped garlic cloves
- 1 inch worth of finely chopped lemongrass
- 3 T. olive oil
- 1 cup white wine
- 2 inches' worth of grated or finely chopped fresh ginger
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Salt
- 2 T. finely chopped celery leaves
Preparation:
In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until hot, about 2-3 minutes. Add the shallots and lemongrass and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, stirring well.
Add the wine, the grated ginger and a little salt and turn the heat up to high. Boil off the wine by half, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the lemon juice, one tablespoon of celery leaves (leaves from the top of a bunch of celery you buy in the store), and taste for salt again -- add some if you need it.
Pour the sauce into a food processor and blitz it until it becomes a thick puree; it should look a bit like a light green mayo, as everything will emulsify.