Singapore Black Pepper Crab

JustJanS's Note:

From the cookbook Spice It - given to me recently as a present by my ex husband! I have developed a real love of crabs and am pretty handy at catching and dispatching of them now days. It's a great way to fill in a few hours: catching, cooking, cleaning and picking or eating them and makes me feel like a real "hunter and gatherer"!

• Total Time: 40 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 3 tablespoons ketjap manis
• 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 3 tablespoons caster sugar
• 2 kg raw blue swimmer crabs
• 1 ½ tablespoons oil
• 1 ½ tablespoons butter
• 1 ½ tablespoons grated fresh ginger
• 6 garlic cloves , finely chopped
• 1 -2 red chile , finely chopped
• 1 ½ tablespoons black pepper
• 1 ½ teaspoons white pepper
• ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 spring onions , finely chopped
• ¼ cup chopped fresh coriander

Directions:

1. Put kecap manis, oyster sauce, sugar and 3 tablespoons water in a small bowl, stir, then set aside.
2. Pull back the apron of each crab, remove top shell, then intestines and feathery gills. Rinse quickly.
3. Cut each crab into quarters and crack the legs gently (I use a meat mallet) so the flavours can enter.
4. Heat the oil in a very large wok over high heat; add the crab pieces and stir fry in batches until the shell is bright orange and the meat almost cooked (about 5 minutes). Remove and repeat until all is cooked.
5. Add the butter, ginger, garlic, chilli, black and white peppers and coriander to the wok; stir fry 30 seconds.
6. Add the sauce mixture and stir; bring to the boil, then simmer 2 minutes.
7. Return the crab to the wok and toss to coat in the sauce.
8. Cook a further 2-3 minutes to finish cooking the crab then garnish with the spring onions and coriander leaves.
9. Serve at once.

Reviews

[ricreg]

Absolutely and undoubtedly the best black pepper crab recipe EVER! Didn't change anything and will only use this recipe from now on! Disclaimer: this is a review from a Singaporean who is crazy about spicy peppery crabs!

[BonnieZ]

The flavors of this recipe were just fantastic. I did not have access to blue crabs, so I used snow crabs instead, and took the time to split the shells to get all that flavor into the crab meat. Loved it! Thank you JustJanS for sharing the recipe.

[pink1208]

Excellent black pepper taste. Easy to prepare and enjoyed by my family.