Thai-Style Seafood Casserole with Basil

Directions

Put the mung beans into a bowl and cover with warm water; soak until soft and pliable, about 10 minutes.

Drain. Set aside. If you are using a cooked crab, have the fishmonger crack it into large pieces.

To clean a live crab, be careful, and use a brush to scrub its underside and between the claws and legs to loosen the sand and grit.

Rinse thoroughly with cold water.

Plunge the crab into boiling water for a minute to kill it.

Remove. When cool, clean, disjoint and chop the crab into large chunks.

In a mortar or spice mill, pound or grind the peppercorns first, then add the coriander root and garlic, and work it into a paste.

Mix together the sugar, Golden Mountain, soy and oyster sauces, rice wine and sesame oil in a bowl.

Pour the vegetable oil into a 3½-quart sandy clay pot casserole (or a Dutch oven) and set over medium heat.

Add the coriander-garlic- pepper paste and sauté lightly.

Increase the heat to high.

Add ginger, chiles and raw crab pieces; toss and brown for a minute.

Add the shrimp an green onions to crab mixture; stir-fry for 30 seconds.

Pour in the soy sauce mixture and mung bean noodles; toss and mix together.

Stir in the water, cover pot, reduce heat to medium and braise for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

If the noodles seem dry, add more water.

Increase heat to medium-high, and gently stir in the fish and squid (and cooked crab if using), mix with the noodles, top with the basil leaves.

Cover and cook for 3 to 5 minutes longer. Check for doneness.

Garnish with fresh coriander sprigs. Bring the clay pot to the table and serve hot with rice and vegetables.