Ingredients
• 2 Tbsp fine salt
• 1 blue swimmer crab
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 white onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• Sea-salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to season
• 40g unsalted butter
• 1⁄2 bunch chives, finely chopped
• Extra lemon wedges, to serve
Method
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Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add fine salt and crab. Cook for 7 minutes or until just cooked through. Drain, reserving 3 cups of the liquid, and transfer crab to a bowl of iced water. Crack crab and extract meat. Reserve shell. Set meat aside.
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Combine reserved cooking liquid, shell and stock in same pan and put over a medium heat. Simmer for 15 minutes or until reduced to 3 cups. Strain and discard solids. Set aside.
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Heat 1⁄2 of the oil in a large deep frying pan over a medium heat. Add onion, garlic, bay leaves and lemon zest. Cook for 3 minutes or until aromatic. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
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Heat remaining oil in same pan. Add rice and cook for 3 minutes or until light golden. Pour
in fish sauce and 1⁄3 of the reserved crab stock. Bring to a simmer, without stirring. Once liquid is absorbed, add another 1⁄3 of the stock and lemon juice and simmer, without stirring. Shake pan, then add remaining stock and simmer, without stirring, until rice is just tender. -
Season with salt and pepper. Stir in crab meat, onion mixture, butter and chives. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.
