Smashing Crabs

Ingredients

1 Dungeness crab
coriander (chopped, for garnishing only)
some sugar
two medium sploshes of tamarind juice
salt to taste
a couple of large slugs of cooking oil
several dashes of water – say a quarter of a cup

Spice paste

a bunch of dried red chilies (soaked in hot water and deseeded)
a large splosh of taucheo (fermented yellow bean sauce)
some cloves of garlic
an inch or two of fresh ginger
more than that of lemon grass (the white part only)

Method

Clean the crab and chop it into pieces. Save the green and juicy stuff inside the shell and set aside.
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.
Soak the tamarind seeds in some warm water for 15 minutes. Extract the juice and discard the seeds.
Heat up your wok and add cooking oil.
Stir fry the spice paste until fragrant and spicy.
Add the crab and quarter of a cup of water and do a quick stir. Cover the wok for three minutes.
Add the green and juicy stuff from the shell and stir well.
Add in sugar, tamarind juice, a little salt to taste and continue stirring for about two minutes or until all crab pieces turned red.
Dish up, garnish with chopped scallions and serve hot.

Cook’s Notes: Use a mortar, large mallet or, in extremis, your forehead to crack the shells of the crab before cooking.

« Back to Potions, Lotions and Brews
Prev
Next

0 Comments...

Add Comment...