I love chilli crab, especially the part where I get to mop up the delicious spicy and tangy sauce with some hot toast. Really yummy. I have never cooked a whole crab before. Live and uncooked crabs intimidate me a little, especially the big black ones with their little beady eyes and big fat pincers. A bit like a giant tarantula masquerading as Darth Vader. The tiny little crabs can be cute though. So anyway, to get around this "problem", I resorted to using canned crab meat, which I think is a fine substitute. I'm not really that fussy, and it's especially time-saving if you're not a champion crab-meat-picker.
This sauce or dip goes well with plain toast, fried mantou/bun, a crusty baguette, nachos, potato wedges, fries or chunky potato chips.
Ingredients:
2 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp grated ginger
5-6 bird's eye chilli
1 tsp belacan (shrimp paste)
1/3 cup chopped coriander leaves
1/2 tbsp palm sugar (or brown sugar)
1 can of crab meat (approx 170g per can)
1/2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp water
1 egg, beaten
Salt to taste
Lemon juice (optional)
Sauce:
1/2 tbsp soy bean paste
5 tbsp tomato sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp black vinegar
1/4 tsp black pepper
200ml water
200ml chicken stock
Method:
- Mix sauce ingredients together. Heat up 2 tbsp of oil in a wok and fry garlic, ginger and chilli for 1-2 minutes, and then add belacan.
- Add sauce ingredients and palm sugar, and bring to a boil.
- Add chopped coriander and crab meat and simmer for a 1-2 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt if necessary. Add a splash of lemon juice if used.
- Add cornstarch mixture, stir and bring to a boil. Then add egg and stir gently until it is mixed into the sauce.
- Dish up, garnish with some fresh coriander leaves and serve immediately with toast, crusty bread, potato chips/wedges or nachos.
Note: If a more runny consistency is desired, omit the cornstarch.
