Pepper Crab

Ingredients:
2 lbs large mud crabs or prawns, claws cracked, shells removed and cleaned. Drain to dry.
Or 1 lb soft shelled crabs
1 cup flour if using soft shelled crabs
4 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 fresh red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
4 tbsp butter10 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
10 slices young ginger1 to 2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp dark soya sauce2 tsp sugar (optional)
Coriander leaves to garnishOil for deep frying

Method:

Dry-fry* black pepper in a wok or frying pan till fragrant. Remove and keep aside.

The crabs taste best if they are deep fried in very hot oil first – deep fry on all sides till the crabs turn red. Drain and keep the oil aside.

For soft shelled crabs, pat the crabs dry, cut each crab into 4, coat with flour and deep fry till golden browned and crispy.

Heat a wok, add the butter and when it melts and is hot, add the garlic, ginger and chilli and stir fry for three minutes till the mixture is fragrant. Add the oyster sauce, soya sauce and sugar and stir well before adding the pepper.

Stir fry a few seconds on high heat, add the crabs and stir fry one minute. Serve with the garnish.

* DRY FRYING is an old fashioned cooking method where food is stir fried till fragrant in a wok or frying pan without oil.