Ingredients
- • 1 lb (450g) mud crabs or soft shelled crabs
- • 4 tbsp plain flour if using soft shelled crabs
- • 3 tbsp vegetable oil*
- • 8 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- • 8 fresh red chillies, roughly chopped
- • 1 egg
- • 2 spring onions (scallions), cut into finger length
- • 1 tsp freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice
- • 1 small bunch coriander plant (cilantro)
- • For soft-shelled crabs, oil for deep frying
- • Mix together for Sauce:
- • 1 cup of water, 5 tbsp tomato catsup, 1 1/2 to
- • 3 tbsp sugar, or according to taste, 1 1/2 tsp
- • cornflour, 1 tsp pounded brown preserved
- • soya beans or dark miso (optional), 1/4 tsp
- • salt
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a wok or shallow saucepan over
- high heat. Add garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute.
- Add the chillies, stir-fry till fragrant. For mud
- crabs, add at this stage. Fry well till shells start
- turning red, add sauce ingredients stir well, cover
- with lid and simmer till shells are red. Break eggs
- into the wok and streak with a fork, simmer till
- cooked. Squeeze lime juice over and stir in
- scallions. For soft-shelled crabs, cut each crab
- into 4, dry well, dredge in flour and deep fry till
- golden brown and crispy. Make the sauce as
- above, but omit the mud crabs. Toss soft shelled
- crabs in sauce just before serving.
