Blue Crab Lemon Garlic Pasta
Quick answer
- Total time
- 33 min
- Level
- Medium
- Servings
- 2 servings
- Ingredients
- 12
About this dish
Sweet crab meat and bright lemon ride on a garlic-scented olive oil sauce that stays clean rather than greasy.
Read more
Butter and starchy pasta water emulsify the oil into a thin coating on the spaghetti, while a splash of cheongju, Korean rice wine, takes the fishy edge off the crab. Crab picked fresh from whole blue crabs tastes noticeably sweeter than frozen meat.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Zest the lemon coarsely to get about 1 teaspoon of zest, then squeeze half for 2 tablespoons of juice.
Slice 5 garlic cloves thinly.
- 2
Boil 2L of water with 1 tablespoon salt.
Cook 180g spaghetti for 1 minute less than the package time and reserve 1 cup pasta water.
- 3
Add 4 tablespoons olive oil and sliced garlic to a cold pan, then heat over low heat for 1-2 minutes until the garlic turns pale golden and fragrant. Do not brown.
- 4
Add 140g crab meat and 1 tablespoon rice wine, raise to medium heat and stir-fry for 1 minute to cook off any fishiness.
If using raw crab meat, keep cooking until it turns opaque. Add 15g butter and let it melt.
- 5
Add the drained spaghetti and 4-5 tablespoons pasta water to the pan.
Toss vigorously over high heat for 1 minute until the starch emulsifies the sauce. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 0.5 teaspoon pepper.
- 6
Turn off the heat and add 2 tablespoons lemon juice, lemon zest, and 1 tablespoon chopped parsley.
Toss lightly and plate immediately.
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