Crab Risotto

RH Staff

From: Chef/owner Chris Yeo, Sino Restaurant & Lounge, San Jose, CA.

Yield: 4 servings.

1 ½ cups arborio rice
2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 Tbsp. butter
5 cups hot light chicken stock or chicken broth
4 Tbsp. black bean sauce (recipe follows)
12 oz. lump crab meat (preferably snow crab)
1 cup Chinese yellow chives, cut into 2” strips
1 cup enoki mushrooms, cut into 2” pieces
4 Tbsp. green American chives, finely chopped

Black Bean Sauce:
¾ cup brown sugar
1⁄3 cup soy sauce
1⁄3 cup oyster sauce
1 Tbsp. ginger, finely minced
1 Tbsp. garlic, finely minced
1 cup fermented Chinese black beans
1 Tbsp. cilantro, finely minced
1 Tbsp. scallions, finely minced
½ Tbsp. chili oil

For black bean sauce: Place fermented black beans into clean bowl and rinse with cold water; drain. Repeat 2-3 times until water runs clear and excess salt has been removed. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, soy sauce, and oyster sauce; mix until sugar has been dissolved. Combine rinsed and dried black beans with mixture and mash black beans until sauce has thickened slightly. Leave just a few black beans intact. Once sauce has reached desired consistency, combine rest of the ingredients into bowl and stir to fully incorporate. Set aside or store in container in refrigerator for later use.

For risotto: Heat large saucepan over medium heat. Add olive oil and coat bottom of the pan well. Add uncooked arborio rice and stir to coat each grain of rice with olive oil. Stir and continue to cook over medium heat until rice becomes translucent, 2-3 minutes. Add enough hot chicken stock to barely cover rice and simmer, stirring frequently. Once rice has absorbed all the stock, continue adding stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly. Repeat until rice is cooked through, 16-20 minutes. Once rice is cooked through, add butter, crab meat, yellow chives and enoki mushrooms. Gently fold into rice until butter has melted and crab meat has been heated through. Place finished risotto onto four warmed serving plates and spoon a little of the black bean sauce on the side. Sprinkle with chopped chives for garnish.

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