lump crab crispy rice

When the hubs and I used to go out to restaurants for date night, back before the ‘rona, one of our favorite spots was herringbone.

Date nights for us have mostly always centered around places with small plates, where we could share lots of different foods, instead of individual heavy main dishes. We love to be able to sample as much as possible from excellent chefs. Herringbone was one of those restaurants. As a bonus, half of their shared plates, both warm and cold, would change seasonally, so you never got bored.

But one dish we never got bored of was a cold crispy rice dish with crab and sausage that was always a menu staple— that is until the restaurant changed ownership. That dish is no longer on the menu. And we are devastated.

Or, at least we were until, after multiple trials, I was able to recreate a relatively close approximation of it. And now, we can have it for date night at home whenever we want. And so can you.

Utilizing quality canned lump crab, chinese sausage, fresh peppers, herbs and shallots and my go to crispy rice recipe, it’s really a perfect starter, side, salad, or even main dish.

Ingredients:

8 oz canned crab, chilled, and checked for shells

2 chinese sausage links, steamed for 15 minutes and then chilled and minced

crispy rice, chilled

1/2 serrano pepper, seeded and sliced

1/2 thai chili, seeded and sliced

1 shallot, thinly sliced

1/3 cup roasted peanuts

1 handful of micro cilantro

1/2 cup avocado oil

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

juice of 1 lime

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 knob of ginger minced

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

Once chilled, combine crab, sausage, rice, pepper, chili, shallots, peanuts and cilantro in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, juice, mustard, ginger, salt, pepper and sugar until combined.

Slowly toss dressing with rice ingredients- you don’t want too much dressing. Just enough to barely coat.