Ginger Mud Crabs

Ingredients

• 1 kg crab (mud crab raw or live)
• 80 ml peanut oil (4 tablespoons)
• 1 inch piece ginger (julienned)
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 red onion (roughly chopped)
• 6 spring onions (scallions cut into 1 inch pieces separate white and green)
• 1 red capsicum (bell pepper cut into strips)
• 60 ml rice wine (shoaxing specified)
• 10 g white sugar
• 40 ml oyster sauce
• 20 ml sesame oil
• 60 ml chicken stock
• 10 ml black vinegar
• 1/2 cup coriander leaves
• 2 chilies (birds eye sliced for garnish to taste) (optional)

Directions

1. 1

   Freeze mud crab for 30 minutes and then blanch in boiling hot water and then submerge into ice water to refresh.

2. 2

   Clean and chop the crab in half, remove lungs and crack the claws by hitting them across the middle with a knife.

3. 3

   Add some off cuts of ginger and spring onion to the water in a pot on which you can sit a bamboo steamer, add the crabs to the steamer and steam for about 6 to 8 minutes or alternatively I would use my electric steamer or if you have a pot with holes in the base site that on a another pot with water.

4. 4

   Heat the peanut oil in the wok until smoking.

5. 5

   Add onion and cook till almost transluscent, add garlic and capsicums (bell peppers) and cook for a few minutes.

6. 6

   Add the julienned ginger and chillies if using, 1 inch lengths of spring onion white part and the capsicum and sugar and fry a few minutes until fragrant.

7. 7

   Add crabs and toss, then add shoaxing wine, oyster sauce, sesame oil and stock and vinegar and cook for a few minutes.

8. 8

   Sprinkle with sliced spring onion greens and coriander leaves.

9. 9

   Serve with steamed rice.