Singapore Chili Crab
Serves 2-4.
Ingredients
2 medium-sized raw crabs
125 ml/4 fl oz/1/2 cup peanut oil
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
3 fresh red chillies, seeded and chopped
3 tablespoons tomato ketchup
3 tablespoons hot chilli sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
Directions
Scrub away any mossy patches on the crabs. Remove hard top shell, stomach bag and fibrous tissue. Chop each crab in 2 or 4, depending on size. Heat a wok and add oil. When hot fry the crab pieces until they change colour, turning them so they cook on all sides. Remove to a plate. Turn heat low and fry the ginger, garlic and chillies, stirring constantly, until they are soft and smell fragrant but do not let them brown. Add the tomato ketchup, chilli sauce, sugar, soy sauce and salt. Bring to the boil, then return crabs to the wok and simmer in the sauce for 3 minutes. If sauce reduces too much add a very little water. Serve with rice.
Recipe excerpted from Encyclopedia of Asian Food by Charmaine Solomon (Periplus Editions, 1998)