Chilli Garlic Crab Recipe, photo by Arnold Gamboa

Chilli Garlic Crab Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons sriracha chilli sauce (make your own by carefully pulping 4 bird’s eye chillies and 2 cloves of garlic using a mortar and pestle, do not touch your eyes while doing this, then stir the pulped chillies and garlic into 3 tablespoons of vinegar. Season with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 tsp of sugar.) 🙂
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons rice-wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste or ketchup
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 cup chopped shallots
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced finely
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 4 medium crabs, cleaned and split
• 1 egg, beaten
• spring onions and red chilli for garnish

Instructions

All the ingredients must be prepared ahead of cooking, which will be fast and involved high heat!

1. 1. Prepare the crabs by through scrubbing to remove all grits, take of the main shell, pluck out the claws and crack them slightly.  Cut the legs into two pieces.  Then set aside.
   2. Now make up the sauce;  heat the wok over high heat.  Add the oil.
   3. Fry the garlic and ginger until sizzlingly fragrant and golden but ensure not to burn the garlic as it would leave a bitter taste.
   4. Add the sriracha chilli sauce, soy sauce, sugar, rice-wine vinegar, tomato paste, and sesame oil in the wok and stir, lower the heat.
   5. Mix the cornstarch in a 2 tablespoons of water.  Add this runny cornstarch mix to the sauce to thicken it.
   6.  Check the seasoning to taste.  Add a tad more salt if required.
   7. Drop in the crabs and coat with the sauce. Cook until the crabs change colour to red and this would normally takes less than 10 minutes.
   8. Arrange in a large serving platter.  Pour in the sauce and decorate with chopping spring onions and red chillies.

Serve hot with slices of toast or steamed rice.