I decided to try cooking crabs since I love this seafood and didn´t want to wait until my annual trip to Singapore to savor this delicacy. Of course Sri Lankan crabs aren´t available here, but frozen crabs are a good substitute.
This was my first time cooking crabs so I had no idea what type of crab to buy (frozen crabs all look the same) and I wasn´t sure how long I can cook them.
I must say that other than the fact that this crab didn´t have any claws **bummer**, the crab meat was surprisingly succulent and firm! I wish I added more pepper and that I didn´t cook the spices too long because they were no longer edible with their burnt aftertaste. The crab however was flavored well-enough by the seasoning though.
Other than that, I´m pretty happy with my first attempt and am so going to buy another type of crab next week to try again! heehee.
The hubby had a hard time trying to eat the crab and he was complaining about the amount of the work needed to shell the crab relative to the amount of meat you get. I had to silence him by telling him that Fondue has the exact same problem - you wait forever to eat a bit of meat. He was at a lost for words. The next time, I should get myself a nutcracker too! .
Black Pepper Crab- 1 bag of frozen crabs (about 750 grams)
- Cooking Oil
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon salted soya beans, mashed
- 1 tablespoons dried prawns, softened and ground
- A lot of whole black pepper, ground coarsely
- Handful of curry leaves
- 2 tablespoons black soya sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoons oyster sauce
1) Wash the crabs under running water and clean them. Frozen crabs are usually clean though.
2) Smash the claws with a cleaver to allow the seasonings in. I didn´t have claws, so I skipped this step.
3) Deep fry the crab without closing the lid. This would cause the crab meat to steam instead of being fried. You want it in whole chunks, not soft pieces that break apart easily. Set aside.
4) Heat a wok, melt butter and put in shallots, garlic, salted soy beans, dried prawns, black pepper, curry leaves.
5) Saute till fragrant, then add crab, black soya sauce, sugar and oyster sauce.
6) Stir-fry for about 5 minutes just to coat the crab with the seasoning. Pay attention not to burn it.
7) Serve with rice and / or a vegetable dish. I used Kang Kong.
Adapted from Rasa Malaysia
7 comments:
WOW!! That looks good!
I wonder if I could talk Mrs. Geezer
into making that for dinner.
Hey Mr Geezer! This taste awesome, especially with fresh crabs. Can you get fresh crabs there? Do you usually eat seafood?
Hey sis,
crab is looking good! Have to say that I agree with my brother though, I tend to order dressed crab so that I can eat the meat straight away. It's the same with lobster, just don't want to go through all that hard work for hardly any meat.
Just wanted to add that with fondue you do have to wait a little bit but at least you only put the meat on a stick and then don't worry about it for a few minutes while you can eat all the side dishes... ;)
See you at the weekend,
jie jie xx
Hey Sabrina! :)
Thanks! You caught me on that one! hah. But I think its an adventure to see how much meat you can get out of the shells! Its quite addictive really.... sorta like doing a difficult maths problem, the harder it gets, the more rewarding the reward!
Yah! We´ll be seeing you real soon!
The best bit, Pris, is licking the shell before you get to the meat.
Great attempt, I haven't eaten Pepper Crabs in a long time...Can't find crabs here.
Just had black pepper crabs yesterday...real stuff...yummy!
Hey Tigerfish!
Nice to have you pop by my blog! Are you Singaporean too??? I shall have my "real" black pepper crabs in June! - Hopefully, haven´t booked air tickets yet.
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