Seafood Platter with Spicy Thai Dipping Sauce

A vibrant seafood feast featuring Dungeness crab, shrimp, squid, octopus, clams, and scallops served with vermicelli noodles and a zesty Thai dipping sauce—perfect for sharing

Ingredients

Seafood

• 1 live Dungeness crab
• 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 lb squid, cleaned (remove plastic core, eyes, innards, slice into rings)
• 1 lb octopus, cleaned
• Clams and scallops (as much as you like)
• Vermicelli noodles, softened in water

Spicy Thai Dipping Sauce

• 4 cloves garlic
• 4 Thai chilies (more for extra spice)
• 1–2 tsp sugar (to taste)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Fish sauce (to taste)

Instructions

1. Prep the Seafood

   1. Clean the Dungeness crab and place in the freezer briefly to slow its movements.
   2. Soak vermicelli noodles in water until softened.
   3. Prepare remaining seafood:
      • Shrimp: Peel and devein.
      • Squid: Separate, clean, slice into rings.
      • Octopus: Clean thoroughly.
      • Clams: Scrub well.
      • Scallops: Open shell, remove abductor muscle, clean meat and shell.
   4. Assemble scallops: Place softened vermicelli noodles on cleaned shell, top with scallop meat, and set aside.

   2. Cook the Seafood

   1. Crab: Remove from freezer. To humanely kill, lift chest cavity and insert a sharp object, then strike with a mallet. Boil crab in salted water for 15 minutes.
   2. Octopus: Boil for 3 minutes.
   3. Clams & scallops: Steam for 12 minutes.
   4. Shrimp: Boil for 3 minutes.

   3. Make the Thai Dipping Sauce

   1. In a mortar & pestle, pound garlic, chili, and sugar into a paste.
   2. Stir in lemon juice and fish sauce.
   3. Taste and adjust seasoning (spicy, salty, or tangy as desired).

Fresh, flavorful, and packed with spice and citrus, this seafood platter turns any meal into a celebratory feast