Thai-Style Seafood Casserole With Basil 3 oz dried mung bean thread noodles 3 small dungeness crabs 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns 1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander root 4 garlic cloves 1 teaspoon sugar 1 tablespoon golden mountain sauce or soy sauce 1 tablespoon light soy sauce or thai fish sauce 2 teaspoon oyster sauce 1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry 1 teaspoon asian sesame oil 2 tablespoon vegetable oil 3 quart slices of ginger crushed 4 red chilies chopped into pieces 6 oz medium shrimp shelled 4 green onions chopped 1 cup water 1 lb fresh fish filets cut into 2 pieces 1/2 cup thai sweet basil leaves 1 fresh coriander sprigs 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 3 1/2-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 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. Serves 4. Yield: 4