CHILI CRABS - The Recipe Place

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Chili Crabs

Ingredients

1 lb Crabs
6 ea Fresh Red Chilies
5 ea Garlic (Cloves)
2 ea Stalks, Spring Onion
1 ea Bunch; Cilantro
3 Tbsp Peanut Oil
1 x Cornstarch as needed
1 x Garlic Powder as needed
1 x Salt as needed
1 x Ground pepper as needed

Directions

Make a mixture to drench the crabs. Cornstarch, garlic powder, salt and pepper. If you want a crispy coating, make a lot. If you just want a dusting to give some crispiness, just a little.

Frying the crab changes the flavor and texture of the dish. If you fry it whole in a big wok, the heat of frying steams the inside of the crab. The sauce will be outside the crab, you will have to crack the crab just before serving it in order to let the flavors ooze out of the crab and mix with the sauce. This technique gives a very delicate flavor to the sauce. Remember however to let the crab sit cracked in the bowl with the sauce poured all over it. Let sit for about five minutes before eating.

The other technique is for smaller sized crabs, or those which have already been pre-cooked (ugh) and quickly frozen...like the dungeness crabs here in San Francisco. The preferable way is to crack them into quarters, save the juices by cracking them open over a very large bowl, and then drenching them in the cornstarch mixture. (Do not use flour, it is important to use cornstarch!!!!) Deep fry the quarters, about one to two minutes in 350F peanut or corn oil..... not coconut or palm oil. Make the sauce separately, stir fry the quartered crabs quickly, transfer to serving dishes, pour in the juices when you first quartered the crabs, shake the serving dish by placing a plate cover, let sit for about two minutes, then serve...garnished with cilantro or freshly chopped chives, ground fresh ginger, finely chopped lemon grass, or all of the above.

MAKING THE SAUCE: Chop the garlic, the spring onions, ginger, and chili. Stir Fry.

COMBINING THE SAUCE AND CRABS: When the sauce is cooked, about one minute, return the crab to the frying wok, stir quickly to coat the crab, then put into serving plate, let sit for a few minutes.