Chili Crab

Ingredients:

1 Dungeness Crab (about 2 lb size)
1 sprig of coriander (chopped for garnishing only)
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 tablespoons of tamarind juice
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons of cooking oil
1/4 cup of water

Spice Paste:

8 dried red chilies (soaked in hot water and deseeded)
1 tablespoon of taucheo (soy bean paste/sauce)
3 cloves of garlic
1 inch of fresh ginger

Tamarind Juice:

5 seeds of tamarind
Water

Method:

1. Clean the crab and chop it into pieces. Save the green and juicy stuff inside the shell and set aside.
2. Pound the spice paste with a mortar and pestle or grind them using a food processor. Make sure that the spice paste is finely blended or pounded.
3. Soak the tamarind seeds in some warm water for 15 minutes. Extract the juice and discard the seeds.
4. Heat up your wok and add cooking oil.
5. Stir fry the spice paste until fragant and spicy.
6. Add the crab and 1/4 cup of water and do a quick stir. Cover the wok with its cover for 3 minutes.
7. Add the green and juicy stuff from the shell and stir well.
8. Add in sugar, tamarind juice, a little salt to taste and continue stirring for about 2 minutes or until all crab pieces turned red.
9. Dish up, garnish with chopped scallions and serve hot.

Cook’s Notes:

1. If you are not sure how to clean the crab, you should get the Dungeness crab in Asian stores. They usually provide the cleaning and chopping services.
2. Use a mortar (or other similar kitchen tools) to crack the shells of the crab before cooking.
3. You can also use this recipe for cooking crab claws. If you do, make sure you crack the claws before cooking so the spices infuse the meat.