The Crab

Please note – crab is best eaten when cooked from having been prepared fresh. The preparation covers all necessary steps to keep the crab as fresh as possible and numerous videos online can be found to help guide you through for the first time. If you are uncomfortable preparing the crab yourself, you may buy a ready boiled crab to avoid the first few steps of preparation, or ask your fishmonger to cook / clean the crab for you.

Chop the crab into easily handleable portions: cut crab claws in half and crack the shell for easy eating, portion the legs into quarters and clean out any ‘dead man’s fingers’ as they are bitter and inedible, keep the head intact to simmer the sauce into the brown meat and then set aside ready to cook into the homemade sweet chilli and tomato sauce.

The Chilli & Tomato Sauce

Peel and finely chop the ginger and garlic and then finely chop the onion, spring onions, chillies. If you find it easier, all of “The Base Flavour” may be placed in a blender and blitzed to make a quick paste.

De-skin the tomatoes by drawing an X on the top of the skin with a sharp knife, then placing in a pan of boiling water for 1 minute. Strain and run under cold water, peel the skin and then slice the tomatoes into quarters and remove the seeds with a spoon. Finely dice and set aside ready for later.

Now mix all “The Sauce” ingredients together and place in a small prep bowl and set aside ready for cooking. Beat the egg well and set aside for a last-minute stir into the sauce.

Heat 1 tablespoon of avocado oil or vegetable oil a wok to medium heat. Add “The Base Flavour” paste to the oil and gently stir fry for 4-5 minutes until it starts to change colour and brown, but not burn. Next add the diced tomatoes into the paste and stir fry for a further minute or two. Once the paste has become a little sticky, pour “The Sauce” into the wok and stir. Bring to boil and cover with a lid. Allow to cook for 3-5 minutes until sauce starts to reduce. Lastly, pour the chicken into the wok and bring to a vigorous boil. Once vigorously boiling, add the prepared crab, giving it a good stir and basting the sauce around the crab before covering with a lid. Allow to cook for 5 minutes to warm the crab through.

Serving

Take the crab off the heat and serve out the pieces of crab onto the plate or serving dish, keeping the sauce in the wok. Just before serving up the sauce, gradually pour the beaten egg into the hot, but not boiling sauce, gently stirring and pushing into the egg once or twice before pouring all over the crab. Garnish with picked coriander. Serve.