Lebanese Seven Spice Beef Rib, Salt Crusted Roast Chioggia Beets and Garlic Braised Swiss Chard

A very nice gourmet beef rib light entree!

     Lebanese 7 spice blend is perfect for roasted beef rib.  When mixed with melted butter, Lebanese 7 spice become a very tasty basting sauce for beef.  Butter basted slow roasted beef rib becomes very moist and tender.  The cartilaginous gelatins of of the rib meat remains intact when using this basting method.  Grated lime zest is the perfect finishing touch for this Lebanese spiced beef rib!
     Salt crusted roast beets is an old nearly forgotten cooking method.  At least it was for me!  A few weeks ago at chef school, we prepared salt crusted beets.  I made the salt crusted beets after just glancing at the recipe and I had a deja vu feeling that I became preoccupied with.
     Later that day, I remembered cooking salt crusted beets at a fine Provencal restaurant twenty years before.  In that restaurant, we went way beyond the call of duty for every item that we cooked!  That restaurant had won the Golden Spoon Award for 30 years in a row and it was Michelin star rated.
     I finally remembered how great those salt crusted roasted beets were and I wanted to add that recipe to this food blog collection.  At that restaurant, we used pink peppercorns in the salt coating to create a very nice "smokey light black pepper" flavor in the beet.  The salt crust forces the spice flavors into the beet and that makes this cooking technique very special.
     Italian chioggia beets are also called bullseye beets.  When they are sliced raw, red and white target rings appear on the beets.  After roasting, most of the color disappears and only the tint from the skin remains.  Even though the color fades, the delicate flavor of chioggia beets remains.  A delicate flavored beet, like chioggia, is perfect for the salt crusted roasting technique.
     A bed of Swiss Chard is perfect for roasted beets and beef rib.  Garlic braised Swiss chard is even better!
     This recipe is a great lesson on how to turn a few economical food items into a very nice fine dining experience!  One meaty beef rib section, like the one in the pictures, costs less than $1.00 to purchase.  There was about 4 ounces of meat on this rib and that is perfect for a petite entree course, during a multi course gourmet dinner.  The spiced butter basting adds cost and labor time.  The spiced deglazed roasting jus adds value to the price.  The salt crusted chioggia beets adds value, because of the extra labor time and expense.  Braised Swiss Chard is always cooked a la minute and that commands a higher price.  For a meal that has a very small food and labor cost, this appealing light entree could be sold for well over $25.00 in a fine restaurant as a third or fifth course!  That makes this creative recipe worth giving a try!

     Salt Crusted Roast Chioggia Beets Recipe:
     One egg white and salt was barely enough to coat the beets in the pictures.  If you run short on the salt slush coating, then make a little bit more.  Refer to the pictures above.  The salt and egg white slush in the mixing bowl was thick enough to stand up on its own.  That is how thick that the coating should be!
     Wash 3 trimmed medium size chioggia beets in cold water.
     Place 1 egg white (or 2 egg whites) into a mixing bowl.
     Add 4 pinches of thyme.
     Add 3 pinches of ground sage.
     Add 1 pinch of ground black pepper.
     Add 1 pinch of oregano.
     Add 2 tablespoons of crushed pink peppercorns.
     Add enough coarse sea salt or coarse kosher salt to form a thick slushy paste.
     Brush a roasting pan with vegetable oil.
     Pack the spiced salt slush on each chioggia beet, so it coats the entire beat with a 1/4" thick layer.
     Place each salt crusted beet on the baking pan.
     Place 1 plain uncoated chioggia beet on the pan.
     Note:  The plain beet will be used as a gauge for doneness.  When the plain beet becomes tender, then the salt crusted beets will be tender too!  The salt crust becomes rock hard while roasting and it is impossible to check the temperature of the beet without breaking the crust.  The plain roasted beet can be saved for another recipe.
     Place the pan in a 325 degree oven.
     Roast the salt crusted beets, till the plain beet on the pan becomes tender.
     Beets do take quite some time to roast.  The beef rib can be cooked while the beets are roasting!

     Lebanese Seven Spice Butter:
     Place 3 ounces of unsalted butter in a small sauce pot.
     Melt the butter over low heat.
     Remove the pan from the heat.
     Add 2 pinches of sea salt.
     Add 2 pinches of cinnamon.
     Add 2 pinches of allspice.
     Add 2 pinches of nutmeg.
     Add 2 pinches of ground clove.
     Add 2 pinches of white pepper.
     Add 2 pinches of black pepper.
     Add 4 pinches of coriander.
     Stir the 7 spice butter.
     Keep the butter warm on a stove top.

     Lebanese Seven Spice Beef Rib:
     Select a single bone beef rib that has the excess lean end of the bone cut off.  The beef rib section should have at least 4 ounces of meat attached to the bone.
     Brush the beef rib with the Lebanese 7 spice butter.
     Place the beef rib on a roasting pan.
     Place the pan in a 325 degree oven.
     Slow roast the beef rib.
     Baste the beef rib with the 7 spice butter occasionally and flip the rib occasionally.
     Roast the rib till the meat begins to recede from the ends of the bones.  This will happen when the meat becomes about a medium well/well done temperature.
     Baste the rib one last time.
     Remove the pan from the oven and let the rib rest for 1 minute.

     Lebanese Seven Spice Rib Jus:
     Add 1/2 cup of water to the roasting pan.
     Place the roasting pan on a burner set to medium low heat.
     Stir the dark roasting fond (suc) into the liquid.
     After the liquid becomes a light brown beef jus color, pour the jus through a fine mesh strainer into a small container.
     Keep the Lebanese 7 spice beef rib jus warm on a stove top.
   
     Garlic Braised Swiss Chard:
     The braised Swiss Chard only takes a few minute to cook, so start this recipe shortly before serving!
     Wash and trim the stem ends on 4 to 6 medium large Swill Chard leaves.
     Pat the leaves dry with a towel.
     Heat a saute pan over medium heat.
     Add 1 small splash of olive oil.
     Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of garlic paste.
     Immediately add the Swiss Chard leaves, before the garlic paste scorches!
     Toss the leaves in the pan.
     Add sea salt and black pepper.
     Saute and toss till the leaves start to wilt.
     Add 1/4 cup of water.
     Braise quickly uncovered, till the Swiss Chard becomes tender.
     Keep the braised Swiss Chard warm on the stove top.  Do not discard the pink colored braising jus!

     Lebanese Seven Spice Beef Rib, Salt Crusted Roast Chioggia Beets and Garlic Braised Swiss Chard:
     Use the back of a chef knife to crack the hard salt crust on the chioggia beets.
     Remove the beets from the crust.
     Hold the warm beets with a dry towel.
     Scrape the skin off of the beets with the back of a paring knife.
     Trim the ends of the beets.
     Give each beet a very quick light rinse under hot running water.
     Cut the salt crusted roasted chioggia beets into slices.
     Place a bed of the Swiss Chard on a plate.
     Spoon some of the chard's pink colored braising juices on the plate.
     Place the salt crusted roast chioggia beets on the Swiss Chard, so the form an outline of the roasted rib.
     Place the Lebanese seven spice beef rib on top of the beets.
     Spoon a generous amount of the Lebanese seven spice beef rib jus over the ends of the beets and on the plate.
     Sprinkle a couple pinches of finely grated lime zest over the beef rib.

     Viola!  A magnificent combination of flavors!  The flavor of each item on this plate accents and compliments the flavors of the other items.  The moist tender basted roasted beef rib has such a nice traditional Lebanese flavor!  The salt crusted roast beets?  Oh wow!  Yum!  The garlic braised Swiss Chard is a bed that any gourmet can dream on.  The lime zest adds the unexpected complimentary flavor to this entree!  This light entree turned out to be a nice creative idea of mine.  Give it a try!  Tasty!  ...  Shawna             

Shish Barak

Lebanese meat stuffed dumplings stewed in yogurt sauce!

     Lebanese Shish Barak is a traditional springtime entree.  Spring is the season of newborn goats and it is the season of fresh goats milk.  Along with the spring season's goats milk harvest comes the making of fresh goats milk yogurt!
     Goats milk yogurt is very healthy and it is fat free.  The flavor is tangy and interesting tasting like French fresh Chevre goats milk cheese.  I do specify goats milk recipes in most of my middle eastern recipes and there is a reason why.  Cows milk yogurt has a different flavor profile.  The tangy flavor of goats milk yogurt is much more refreshing!
     The meat stuffing can be made with lamb or beef.  Many chefs think that every Arabic or Persian meat recipe is only made with lamb for some unknown reason.  Maybe it is just a stereotype that comes from watching too much television.  I never watch television, because I like to experience and learn from real life.
     Beef is the choice meat in most middle eastern cuisine.  A very classy Las Vegas fine dining restaurant named Habib's Persian Cuisine features filet mignon and beef tenderloin in nearly all of their meat entrees.  I posted a review of Habib's Persian Cuisine a few months ago and I described the beefy Persian menu!  Only a few lamb entrees were on the menu at Habib's.  That is really how the cuisine is in the middle east.  Lamb plays second fiddle to beef!
     By the way, spring lamb season starts in June.  June?  Yes, I know that sounds strange, but that is the truth.  Any lamb that you purchase at northern hemisphere markets was either frozen since last year, or it came from southern hemisphere sheep farm regions like Australia or New Zealand.  The rules of what really is true lamb are very strict in the northern hemisphere and it is best to do some research and be informed, before making a lamb purchase.  The more you know, the better lamb purchase will be!
   
     Note:  This recipe makes one portion of 12 dumplings.  When making the stewing sauce for this recipe, it is important to cook the sauce at a low temperature.  Even though the stewing sauce has a thickening agent, too high of a heat will cause the sauce to separate and break!

     Shish Barak Meat Stuffing Recipe:
     Lamb or beef can be used for the dumpling stuffing!
     Heat a saute pan over medium heat.
     Add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil.
     Add 2 tablespoon of finely chopped onion.
     Add 2 minced garlic cloves.
     Saute till the onions just start to turn a clear color.
     Add 3 1/2 ounces of lean ground beef.  (Lamb is optional.)
     Saute and break up any clumps of ground beef.
     Add sea salt.
     Note:  The following list of spices in this recipe is known as Lebanese 7 Spice mix!
     Add 1 pinch of black pepper.
     Add 1 pinch of white pepper.
     Add 1 pinch of ground clove.
     Add 1 pinch of nutmeg.
     Add 1 pinch of allspice.
     Add 1 pinch of cinnamon.
     Add 1 1/2 pinches of coriander.
     Cook the stuffing mixture, till the ground beef is fully cooked and till it is lightly browned.
     Set the beef stuffing aside.

     Shish Barak Unleavened Dumpling Dough Recipe:
     Place 1 cup of plain bread flour into a mixing bowl.
     Add 2 pinches of sea salt.
     Add 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil.
     Add 1 tablespoon of water at a time, while stirring, till the dough starts to rice and form pea size dough shapes.
     Start kneading with fingertips and add a few drops of water at a time, till a medium soft dough texture is formed.
     Roll the dough into a ball shape and gently knead by hand, till it becomes pliable and smooth.
     Press the dough between the hands, to flatten the dough into a flat circular shape.
     Place the flattened dough on a lightly floured counter top.
     Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a round 3/16" thick sheet.
     Use a 2 1/4" to 2 1/2" wide ring mold to cut several dough circles.
     Re-roll the dough and finish cutting dough circles, till a total of 12 are made.

     Shish Barak Dumplings Recipe:
     Stuff each dumpling one at a time!  The dumplings should not look like they were factory made.  They should each look like they were hand made and each one should have character!
     Gently stretch each dumpling dough circle just about 1/4 inch wider with fingertips.
     Hold the flat stretched dough circle in the palm of the hand.
     Place about 1 teaspoon to 1 1/2 teaspoons of the meat stuffing on the center of the dough circle.
     Pull the dough over top of the meat and pinch the dough shut, like a miniature coin bag.  Completely seal each dumpling.
     Brush a baking pan with olive oil.
     Place the 12 dumplings on the baking pan.
     Drizzle 2 to 3 drops of olive oil over each dumpling.
     Bake the dumpling in a 250 degree oven, till the dough dries slightly, and till light golden highlights appear.
   
     Shish Barak Recipe:
     Heat a sauce pot over low heat.
     Add 3 tablespoons of virgin olive oil.
     Add 3 minced garlic cloves.
     Gently saute, till the garlic becomes soft and fragrant.
     Add 6 ounces of goats milk yogurt.
     Add 1/2 cup of water.
     Add sea salt and white pepper.
     Whisk the sauce as it heats, till the ingredients combine.
     Mix 1/2 tablespoon of corn starch with 1 tablespoon of cold water,
     Add the cornstarch slurry to the sauce while stirring.
     Add 1 tablespoon of minced cilantro leaves.
     Add 3 pinches of coriander.
     Check the consistency of the sauce.  The sauce should be a thin soupy cream sauce consistency.  Add water if necessary.
     Place the 12 stuffed dumplings in the sauce.
     Simmer till the dumpling dough becomes tender.  (About 5 minutes)
     Stir the sauce occasionally, so it does not separate!
     Use a spoon to arrange the dumplings in a wide shallow soup bowl.
     Pour the thin yogurt stewing sauce over the dumplings.
     Garnish with a cilantro sprig.

     Beyond delicious!  The yogurt broth is soothing and healthy tasting.  When the spiced meat filling of a dumpling is bitten into, a great flavor sensation takes center stage!  The dumpling flavor is superb tasting with the thin coriander cilantro flavored yogurt broth.  This is a great Lebanese entree!  Yum!  ...  Shawna       

April Le Cordon Bleu Mystery Basket Cooking Demonstration!

Persian Spiced Incan Quinoa Grain and Minced Veal Stuffed Grape Leaves 

Veal Loin Cutlets with Garlic Sage Beurre Noisette

Bette à carde braisée

Roasted Pork Loin

Kosher Salt Roasted Beets and Turnips

Persian Spiced Incan Quinoa Grain and Minced Veal Stuffed Grape Leaves 

Garlic Sage Beurre Noisette Artichokes and Candied Smoked Bacon Veal Topping

Veal Loin Cutlets with Garlic Sage Beurre Noisette

Bette à carde braisée

Alabama Style Rice and Beans

Mystery Basket!

     Le Cordon Bleu offers some nice extracurricular activities for students.  Last weekend I participated in a Mystery Basket cook off.  That was a fun event!  A huge mystery basket full of odd food items was placed on a table and the participants were expected to create a few entrees with the items of the mystery basket.

     There were some pricy gourmet items in the mystery basket!  A boneless veal loin was the high dollar ticket item in the basket.  The executive chef asked me to prepare that item in a specific way.  That left no room for creativity, but I do enjoy cooking classic veal preparations.  The veal loin section was cut into cutlets and pounded thin.  The cutlets were sauteed and the veal was finished with a garlic sage beurre noisette.  A topping of garlic sage beurre noisette artichoke hearts and candied smoked bacon was also prepared for the veal loin cutlets.  This turned out to be a very nice uncomplicated modern veal presentation that was based on classic veal recipes!

     The braised swiss chard was another simple item that I cooked.  I like how the braising liquid of swiss chard turns pink in color.  That creates a nice-dream like presentation.

     The stuffed grape leaves were my idea.  I minced the veal trimmings from butchering the veal loin and cooked them with Incan quinoa grain.  Other students were cooking a couple of rice dishes, so I figured that I would try a different grain than rice for the stuffed grape leaves.  The ancho chile jack cheese polenta stuffed grape leaves that I made a few moths ago turned out nice, so alternative grains were more than just an option.  I used Arabic Persian spices to flavor the dolmeh barg quinoa veal stuffing.

     One student made a nice roasted whole pork loin that was flavored with an asian marinade.  An Alabama style beans and rice entree that was made by a student showed that that there is room for good old fashioned home comfort cooking in modern French cuisine.

     The executive chef created a salt and pepper roasted chiogga beet and turnip plate that tasted very nice.  This gourmet salt roasting method brings nice flavors out of the root vegetables.

     Le Cordon Bleu offers many cooking classes and clubs that are open to the public on Saturdays.  The Knife Skills Club and the Baking Club had quite a large group of interested attendees!  The fees are reasonable and the learning experience is good for home cooks who wish to learn from experienced professional executive chefs and master chefs.  By attending a few of the Le Cordon Bleu cooking demonstrations, an amateur can take a few steps toward cooking like a professional!  The class or demonstration atmosphere is informative, fun and upbeat.  Look into attending a Saturday Le Cordon Bleu cooking club or cooking demonstration sometime!  Its a good way to make the best of a weekend and to have fun, while learning cooking skills that will last a lifetime!  Yum!  ...  Shawna    

Prickly Pear Noodles con Guisado de Longaniza y Nativa Vegetales

Prickly Pear Cactus Fruit Flavored Noodles with Stewed Longaniza Sausage and Native Mexican Vegetables!

     This pasta creation is a comfortable Sunday afternoon meal!  The flavors are rich, very mildy spicy and very healthy.  The native Mexican vegetables include toasted calabaza seed, jalapeno, Chilhuacle negro chile, tomato, blue speckled maize, bell pepper, onion and pinto beans.  Those are some healthy stewed vegetables!  Cilantro and epazote also flavor the stew.
     Longaniza sausage is similar to chorizo, but it is much milder in flavor.  Many food writers incorrectly describe longaniza as being spicier than chorizo.  Sausage making is a regional culinary art.  In some regions both longaniza and chorizo are mildly spicy and in other regions these sausages may be spicier.  Overall, longaniza is the milder of the two sausages.
     Prickly pear cactus fruit is called tuna in Mexico.  Prickly pear cactus fruit (tuna) is a strong antioxidant, it lowers cholesterol and it helps to control type two diabetes.  Which is healthier, tuna as in cactus fruit or tuna fish?  Obviously, Mexican tuna cactus fruit is the winner!
     Dried powdered prickly pear cactus fruit was used to flavor the pasta dough for the noodles.  I purchased this artisan crafted prickly pear cactus flavored fresh pasta at the Greenland Supermarket in Korea Town, Las Vegas last week.  Korean?  Yes!  Koreans are into healthy food and the health benefits of prickly pear cactus fruit are amazing!
     Dried Chilhuacle negro chile is a hard to find chile pepper.  Chilhuacle negro chiles are native to Oaxaca Mexico.  When dried, they look like a dark black stubby small bell pepper shape with a smooth skin.  The flavor of Chilhuacle negro chile is a one of a kind combination of deep intense fruit flavors, dried plum, licorice and tobacco.  Chilhuacle negro chile are used to make the famous Oaxacan black mole pastes.  This pepper has a mild spicy chile pepper heat.
     The maize in this recipe is a native heirloom breed.  I chose blue speckled yellow maize for this recipe.  Blue speckled maize is much healthier than hybrid sweet corn.
     Put this all together and this entree is a very healthy, nutritious and good tasting stew that is nice when served on pasta.  Mexican style pastas are a chic item these days!

     Prickly Pear Noodles con Guisado de Longaniza y Nativa Vegetales:
     The prickly pear fruit flavored fresh pasta can be found at Korean markets and artisan pasta shops.  If you want to make this pasta from scratch, then add dried ground prickly pear cactus fruit to a pasta dough recipe.
     This stew does not take all day to cook!  The stew only simmers till the vegetables become tender and till a thin broth sauce is formed.
     Heat a sauce pot over medium/medium low heat.
     Add 5 cups of water.
     Add a 5 to 6 ounce piece of cased raw longaniza sausage.
     Gently boil the sausage, till it is fully cooked.
     Remove the sausage from the pot and let it cool.
     Cut the longaniza sausage into small bite size slices and set them aside.
     Place a pot of boiling water on a back burner set to high heat, so the fresh pasta can be cooked later in the recipe.
     Heat a large saute pan over medium heat.
     Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of blended olive oil.
     Add 2 tablespoons of small chopped onion.
     Add 2 tablespoons of small chopped green bell pepper.
     Add 1/2 of a small chopped seeded jalapeno pepper.
     Add the reserved cooked longaniza sausage slices.
     Saute till the vegetables start to become tender.
     Add 1 minced garlic clove.
     Add 1 Roma tomato that is cut into medium thin wedges.
     Add 1 small handful of fresh blue speckled maize kernels, that were cut off of a cob.
     Add 2 tablespoons of toasted pepitas.  (toasted hulled calabaza seeds)
     Add 1 crushed seeded dried Chilhuacle negro chile.  (Substitute a morita chile or pasilla chile if no Chilhuacle negro chile are available.)
     Add 1 handful of rinsed cooked pinto beans or rinsed canned pinto beans.
     Add 3 tablespoons of tomato puree.
     Add 2 cups of light chicken broth.
     Add 2 pinches of paprika.
     Add 2 pinches of cumin.
     Add 2 pinches of coriander.
     Add sea salt and black pepper.
     Add 1 pinch of dried crumbled epazote.
     Add 10 chopped cilantro leaves.
     Simmer and stew the ingredients, till the vegetables become tender and the sauce reduces to a thin sauce consistency.
     Reduce the temperature to very low heat.
     Place 1 portion of prickly pear cactus fruit flavored fresh pasta in the pot of boiling water.  (The pasta should have a linguini or capellini shape.)
     Boil the fresh pasta, till it floats in the water and till it becomes fully cooked.
     Add the pasta to the longaniza sausage and native Mexican vegetable stew in the pan.
     Toss the ingredients together.
     Place the pasta and sauce on a plate.
     Use a carving fork to spin the noodles form a tall peak of pasta on the center of the plate.
     Try to expose a little bit of each of the ingredients on the surface of the pasta.
     Garnish the center peak of pasta with a split lime slice.
     Garnish the lime slice with cilantro leaves.

     This is an interesting Mexican pasta entree to look at, because many of the ingredients are not commonplace.  The aroma and flavor of this entree spells savory healthy comfort in any language!  Yum!  ...  Shawna    

Kkotkgae Maun Bokkeum

Korean Spicy Crab!

     Kkotkgae Maun Bokkeum is a very tasty Korean crab recipe.  Flower crab is what Koreans use in this traditional recipe, but flower crabs are hard to come by outside of asia.  Blue crab is a similar shaped crab and dungeness crab is also a good substitute.  I was lucky enough to find live Chesapeake Bay blue crabs for sale at the Greenland Market in Korea Town, Las Vegas.  The live crabs in the pictures were extremely lively and they were grabbing anything that moved, including my fingers!  Fresh live Chesapeake blue crab is as good as crab gets!
     Since I picked up a basketful of food items at the Korean market, making a traditional Korean crab recipe was an easy decision.  There are many spicy hot recipes in Korean cooking.  You can adjust the level of chile pepper heat to suit your personal taste.  Most Korean restaurants offer a scale of one through ten of spicy heat for customers to choose from.  I personally prefer spicy food to be as spicy as it can be, within reasonable bounds.  Let your personal taste be your guide for the amount of chile spice in Korean recipes, but remember that many Korean recipes are meant to be spicy hot.

     Kkotkgae Maun Bokkeum Recipe:
     Have all the ingredients ready, before starting the stir fry in the recipe!
     Boil 2 quarts of water in a pot over high heat.
     Drop 2 live blue crabs in the boiling water.
     Cook the crabs, till the shell turns an orange color and till the crabs are 3/4's fully cooked.
     Place the crabs on a cutting board and chop them in half with a cleaver or heavy knife.  (A few of the claws and legs may fall off and that is okay.)
     Set the par boiled blue crab halves aside.
     Heat a wok or a saute pan over medium/medium high heat.
     Add about 1/3 cup of vegetable oil.
     Dredge the blue crab pieces in rice flour.
     Add the crab pieces to the hot oil in the pan.
     Stir fry for 30 seconds.
     Add 1 handful of finely chopped onion.
     Add 5 cloves of minced garlic.
     Add 2 teaspoons of minced ginger.
     Add 3 finely chopped green hybrid twisted peppers or 2 finely chopped green serrano peppers.
     Stir fry for about 1 or 2 minutes.
     Add 1 1/2 cups of water.
     Add 2 tablespoons of Korean sambal (gochujang) or Korean coarse red serrano chile pepper sauce.
     Add 1/2 tablespoon of Korean red chile powder.  (gochugaru)
     Add 4 tablespoons of Korean red serrano chile garlic sauce.
     Add 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil.
     Add 2 tablespoons of thin soy sauce.
     Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar.
     Add sea salt.  (Taste before adding sea salt.  Some Korean sambal pastes are salty!)
     Bring the sauce to a boil.
     Mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl.
     Add just enough of the cornstarch slurry to the sauce in the pan, while stirring, to thicken the sauce to a medium thin sauce consistency.
     Add 1 thin sliced green onion.
     Toss the ingredients together.
     Remove the pan from the heat.
   
     Presentation:
     Place about 5 perilla leaves around the border of a plate, so that they are evenly spaced.
     Mound the Korean spicy crab pieces on the center of the plate.
     Spoon any excess sauce over the crab pieces.
     Sprinkle a little bit of thin sliced green onion top over the Korean spicy crab.

     Viola!  Spicy fresh cooked crab Korean style!
     I have seen Koreans eating Kkotkgae Maun Bokkeum with chopsticks in restaurants without making any mess.  That is an accomplishment!  For those who are not professional with chopsticks, this Korean spicy crab entree is better off being eaten with fingers, just like buffalo wings are eaten.  Kkotkgae Maun Bokkeum is finger licking good and spicy hot!  I do suggest a cold Korean Hite Beer with this spicy entree.  Yum!  ...  Shawna