Crab Fried Amaranth with Peanut Sauce

The peanut sauce on this is just amazing. Then again, I'm the kind of person who can eat spoonfuls of peanut butter. I like my sandwiches jelly-free, just crunchy, delicious peanut butter. Maybe that's partly why I like Thai food so much - peanuts!
original recipe via arismenu.com

Grocery list items:
peanut butter
lime
cilantro
zucchini
broccoli
imitation crab meat

What I really liked about this recipe was how all the flavors come together. The peanut sauce is salty and sweet, with a bit of spice, and helps balance out the strong fishy flavor of the crab. I bet real crab would be tasty in this, but I think the imitation crab is still good, and it's super cheap. I imagine it's kind of like a "crab" hotdog, made with Alaskan pollack.

Crab Fried Amaranth with Peanut Sauce

For the sauce:
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 tbs almond milk
3 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs fresh lime juice
cayenne pepper (to taste)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Mix together peanut butter and almond milk, and microwave for about 20 seconds. Then add the remaining ingredients and stir together. Set aside, and make the amaranth.

For the amaranth:
1 1/2 cups amaranth
3 cups water
1 tbs olive oil
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 zucchini, cubed
1 head broccoli, chopped
2 tbs soy sauce
1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 lb crab meat
2 eggs

Start by making the amaranth. Put it in a pot with the water, and bring it to a boil. Then lower it to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes (you could be making the peanut sauce while it's cooking). In a large pan, sauté onions and garlic until softened. Add vegetables, soy sauce, and ginger. Cook 5-10 minutes, until vegetables begin to get tender. Add the cooked amaranth to the pan. You may want to adjust flavoring. Next, add the crab meat and stir well. When the mixture is hot and the vegetables are cooked to your liking, push everything to the side and crack both eggs into the pan. Scramble them and cook them thoroughly, then mix into the rest of the amaranth.

Add a handful of fresh cilantro, and serve with peanut sauce on top. Lots and lots of peanut sauce.

This dish would be great with all kinds of variations. Use chunky or smooth peanut butter. Use brown rice, white rice, or quinoa. Lots of different vegetables, and maybe shrimp or real crab instead of pollack. Hard to go wrong, and it tastes even better as leftovers the next day.