Fiery Pepper Crabs 黑胡椒蟹
Fiery Pepper Crabs are best eaten hot.
We made pepper crabs for friends a few weeks ago. They enjoyed it so much that they asked us to buy 3 crabs instead of 2 next time.
I don’t blame them. Pepper crab is so delicious and aromatic, one can never get enough. Interestingly, this is one of our most request dish and one that we enjoy serving if we can get our hands on some large crabs at the market
This is a very popular restaurant dish in Singapore where they serve live seafood. My recipe has been modified to make it easy for the home kitchen . All you need is a big wok to learn how to cook Fiery Pepper Crab Recipe at home.
I promise this dish will impress any serious seafood foodie.
Don’t forget to tell me how this recipe works for you.
Feiry Pepper Crab Recipe
Ingredients
2 large mud crab, about 1.5 to 2 pounds each
3 tablespoons of black peppercorns
1 tablespoons of white peppercorns
6 cloves of garlic cloves, minced
1 thumb size knob of ginger. Sliced.
1/2 cup of French salted butter
3 tablespoons of fish sauce
Salt to taste
Cooking Method
1. Ground the fresh peppercorns. Put aside.
2. Clean the crabs, scrubbing with a big brush to clean all the dirt from the outside. Cut each crab in to 8 to 10 pieces, removing all the inedible areas. Crack the claws with out breaking off the shell.
3. Heat oil about 1 inch deep in a wok over high heat to shallow fry the crab pieces. Do a few pieces at a time until they are half cooked. This seals in the juices and prepares the crab for flavoring. Place all ready pieces on the side until all the pieces of the two crabs are done.
4. Keep a little oil in the wok, put away the rest. Add in ginger and garlic. Add white pepper, black pepper and butter. Fry until fragrant. Add crab pieces a few pieces at a time to ensure each piece is covered by the butter. Add fish sauce while stirring and flipping the pieces as they cook. The wok should be dry.
5. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes (depends on weight 9f crab) Taste and add salt if necessary.
6. When crabs are completely cooked, serve.
Hints for Cooking Pepper Crabs
- The crabs should be kept live as long as possible. Only cut them when you are ready cook them. This keeps the flesh fresh and firm.
- Because the weight of each crab differs and everyone take heat at different levels, adjust the recipe to your liking.
- Each piece of crab will be different in size. To ensure that everything is cooked properly, please try to cook the larger pieces first and for a little longer, adding the smaller pieces last.
- Presentation is so importan so try to place the crab pieces on the plate to imitate its original form.
- Top off with with Chinese parsley to brighten up the whole effect.