Our town recently held its 15th annual
Crab (and Seafood) Festival, and we decided to have our own crab dinner with leftovers from
temakizushi hand-rolled sushi from the day before.
- Kani-dashi no mukago gohan / steamed rice with mountain yam bulbs, cooked with crab shell broth
- Kani shinjo no osuimono / clear soup with fish & crab dumplings, with Japanese turnip stems and chrysanthemum-cut carrot
- Kani to yurine, ninjin no happa no kakiage, hanaho no tenpura / mixed tempura of crabmeat, lily bulb and carrot leaf, and green perilla flower spike tempura
- Kani to kyuri, kikka no shoga amazu-ae / crabmeat, cucumber and chrysanthemum in ginger-flavored sweetened vinegar
- Kanimiso-iri gomadofu / sesame tofu with crab "butter" (innards)
- Yaki-shimeji no momiji-oroshi-ae / grilled shimeji mushrooms dressed with grated carrot & Japanese turnip and citrus soy sauce
A whole or half crab served with
kanizu vinegar comes to mind when I hear "crab feast," but we had already shelled the crab the day before and used one-third in sushi. We had a bit more than a handful of crabmeat, lots of crab shell, and
kanimiso crab butter, plus several other ingredients from the garden waiting their turn at our table.