Crab is so much better when it's
fresh and getting to grips with a live one doesn't have to be a traumatic
business.
Strongly recommend buying live crab and cooking
and dressing it yourself, there are two recommended "humane" ways of
preparing crab for cooking. The first is to turn a live crab on its back and
drive an awl, or sturdy skewer between the eyes, then through the centre of the
body. The other way is to put the crab in the freezer, to send it to sleep.
To cook the crab: Bring a pan of
heavily-salted water to the boil (about 1 tbsp salt per litre). Plunge the crab
in, bring and simmer for about 15 minutes for the first 500g, then an extra 5-6
minutes for every additional 500g. Remove from the water and leave to cool.
To get the meat out of the crab: Twist the
legs and claws off, then crack them open with a hammer and remove the white
meat with a lobster pick or teaspoon.
Now turn the crab on its back and twist off
the pointed flap. Push the tip of a table knife between the main shell and the
body section. Twist the blade to separate the two, then push the body up and
remove from the outer shell. Scoop out the brown meat and put it to one side.
From the other section, remove the dead man's fingers (the father-like, grey
gills attached to the body) and discard. Split the body in half then split each
half in half again. Pick out the white meat.
To dress the crab, or serve it the
traditional way back in the shell; Look for the line surrounding the open part
and push the edge in gently with your fingers. It will break along the line,
leaving a neat cavity. Wash the shell and dry. Mix up the brown meat, adding a
little mayonnaise if you wish, then spoon into the centre of the shell, placing
the white meat on either side. Alternatively, just serve a good spoonful on
each plate, with a wedge of lemon and brown bread and butter.
Gua Sot Sa-Te – Wok-Tosed Crab In Sate Sauce
Our time spent with family in the Mekong
Delta was all about eating local dishes and cooking with local produce. My
father created the spicy sate sauce recipe, used here and in other recipes,
while attemping to make the traditional version. Vietnamese sate sauce is not
like the malay-style peanut satay sauce – the Vietnammese version is
chilli-based and is used in stir-fries and added to broths.
Gua
Sot Sa-Te – Wok-Tosed Crab In Sate Sauce
Serves 4-6 as part of a shared meal
·
2 live crabs, blue swimmer or mud crab, 400g
each Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
·
Potato starch, for dusting
·
1/2 green pepper, thinly sliced
·
3 red Asian shallots, finely chopped
·
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
·
4 tbsp spicy sate sauce
·
3 spring onions, cut into 5cm lengths
·
2 long red chillies, thinly sliced on the
diagonal
To prepare your crabs humanely, place them
in the freezer for 1 hour to put them to sleep. Remove the upper shell of the
crab, pick off the gills, which look like little fingers, and throw them away.
Clean the crab under running water and drain. Place the crab on its stomach and
chop the crab in half lengthways with a heavy cleaver, then chop each half into
four pieces. With the back of the cleaver, gently crack each claw - this makes
it easier to extract the meat.
Pour the oil into a wok and heat to 200°C,
or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil browns in 5 seconds. Dust the
crab pieces with potato starch, shaking of the excess. Deep-fry the crab in
batches for 3 minutes, turning once, until golden brown. Remove the crab from
the wok and drain on paper towel. Remove the oil, reserving two tablespoons,
and clean the wok.
Heat the reserved oil in the wok, then add
the pepper and stir-fry for 1 minute, then add the shallots and garlic and fry
until fragrant. Add the sate sauce and stir for 1 minute. Return the crab to the
wok with the spring onions and toss, making sure to coat the crab well.
Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with chilli.
