Soft Shell Crab Spider Roll with Legs Out

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A crisp-fried soft shell crab rolled in seasoned sushi rice and nori, with the legs deliberately poking out both ends like a spider. The crab is fried first so it stays shatteringly crisp, and the roll is built on a plastic-wrapped bamboo mat — the only reliable way to compress a bulky, awkward filling without tearing the nori. Finished with spicy mayo, sweet eel-style glaze, avocado and cucumber.

Ingredients

• 2 cup Japanese short-grain sushi rice
• 2 1/4 cup cold water
• 1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp fine sea salt

• 2 soft shell crabs (about 4 oz each), thawed if frozen
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup ice-cold seltzer or club soda
• 2 tbsp cornstarch, for dusting
• 6 cup neutral oil for frying (canola or peanut)

• 4 full sheets toasted nori
• 1 ripe but firm avocado, sliced thin
• 1/2 English cucumber, cut into thin matchsticks
• 4 leaves green leaf lettuce, ribs removed
• 2 tbsp masago or tobiko (optional)
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced

• 1/3 cup Japanese mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp sriracha
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup mirin
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp sake or dry sherry

• pickled ginger
• wasabi
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Rinse the rice in a bowl of cold water, swirling with your hand and pouring off the cloudy water, 4 to 5 times until the water runs nearly clear. Drain in a sieve for 10 minutes, then cook with 2 1/4 cups cold water in a rice cooker, or in a covered saucepan: bring to a boil, reduce to the lowest heat and cook 13 minutes, then rest off heat, covered, 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, warm the rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon sea salt in a small pan over low heat just until dissolved, about 1 minute. Do not boil. Set aside to cool.
3. Spread the hot rice in a wide non-metal bowl or sheet pan. Drizzle the vinegar mixture over it and fold gently with a wet rice paddle or silicone spatula, slicing rather than stirring, until every grain is glossy. Cover with a damp towel and let cool to just-warm room temperature, about 20 minutes. Never refrigerate sushi rice.
4. Make the sauces: whisk the mayonnaise, sriracha, sesame oil and lemon juice in a small bowl. For the glaze, simmer the soy sauce, mirin, 2 tablespoons sugar and sake in a small saucepan over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, until it coats the back of a spoon and reduces to about 1/3 cup. Cool — it thickens further as it sits.
5. Prep the crabs if not already cleaned: with kitchen shears, snip off the face just behind the eyes, lift each pointed top shell flap and cut away the feathery gills on both sides, then remove the triangular apron on the underside. Pat very dry with paper towels. Cut each crab in half straight down the middle so each half has one claw and a fan of legs — you need 4 halves for 4 rolls.
6. Heat 2 to 3 inches of oil in a heavy pot or Dutch oven to 350°F (175°C). Set a wire rack over a sheet pan nearby.
7. Whisk the 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup cornstarch, baking powder and kosher salt together. Pour in the ice-cold seltzer and whisk just until barely combined and slightly lumpy — like thin pancake batter. Keep it cold.
8. Dust the crab halves lightly with the 2 tablespoons cornstarch, shaking off excess, then dip in the batter, letting the extra drip back. Fry two halves at a time for 2 minutes, flip, and fry 2 to 3 minutes more until deep golden and crisp; the legs should be rigid. Drain on the rack and season with a pinch of salt. Fry the remaining halves. Let cool 5 minutes so they don't steam the rice.
9. Wrap a bamboo rolling mat completely in plastic wrap and tape or tuck the ends underneath — this is what lets you squeeze a lumpy filling firmly without rice or crab shell snagging the slats.
10. Place a full nori sheet shiny-side down on the mat with the long edge toward you. Keep a bowl of water with a splash of vinegar nearby for your hands. With damp fingers, spread about 3/4 cup rice over the nori in an even 1/4-inch layer, leaving a bare 1-inch border along the far edge. Press gently — compacting the rice makes it gummy.
11. Lay a piece of lettuce across the rice about one-third up from the near edge. On top, arrange 2 to 3 avocado slices, a small bundle of cucumber matchsticks, some scallion and a teaspoon of spicy mayo. Set one fried crab half on the pile so the legs and claw stick out past both short ends of the nori by an inch or two. Trim nothing — those legs are the whole point.
12. Lift the near edge of the mat with both hands and fold it up and over the filling so the rice edge meets the rice just past the crab. Squeeze the mat gently along its length to shape a tight log, then peel the mat back, roll forward onto the bare nori border, and squeeze once more to seal. Wrap the mat around the finished roll and press the top and sides to square it up.
13. Wipe a long, thin knife with a damp cloth and cut the roll in half, then cut each half into 3 pieces, wiping the blade between every cut. Use a single smooth draw-stroke — sawing crushes the crab. Repeat steps 10 through 13 for the remaining 3 rolls.
14. Arrange the pieces on a platter with the two leggy end pieces standing proud. Zigzag with eel-style glaze and spicy mayo, scatter sesame seeds, masago and scallion over the top, and serve immediately with pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce.

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Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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