Chilli Crab

This is the last bank holiday weekend for 2010, therefore no more holidays till Christmas period. One have to make full use of the long weekend to get outdoor especially now we're approaching the late summer. I joined an outing to Great Yarmouth, a typical British seaside town with my friends and colleagues. Even though it's just an hour and a half away, I have yet to explore this seaside town by myself. So it's a good opportunity to join in the fun and if courage took hold of me, I might try to swim in the North Sea ( brrrr...... even the thought of it, send chill into my bone ... hehehehe).
We're given good weather to start with (sunny blue sky and slightly on the chilly side-but hey I can't complain....it's typical of North Sea climate this time of the year). This seaside town is quite quaint, dotted with lots of fish and chip shops, restaurants, shops, market etc etc. Too bad I didn't bring my DSLR with me, as I don't want to risk my camera when I have a friend who wanted to push me into North Sea :-) .
I ventured to the town market to see what they've over here especially the fresh seafood. I saw plenty of Cromer crabs on sale, an usual treat during summer months. Of course I prefer the mud crabs, but here they do Cromer crab at a fraction of price compared to supermarket and it's pretty fresh (over here they normally sell crabs which has been pre-cooked, you hardly ever find live crab in the market over here). So I decided to buy 4 whole crabs. Singapore Chilli crab or black pepper crab? ........ scratching my head..... :-)
I decided it shall be the famed Singapore chilli crab .....


Singapore Chilli Crab
Ingredients (serves 2)

• 2 whole crabs - washed, cleaned and chopped to different segments
• 2 tbsp of chopped ginger
• 3 cloves of chopped garlic
• 1 shallot finely chopped
• 5 red chillis- finely chopped
• 1 tbsp of sambal (optional)
  
• 1 cup of chicken stock
• Sauce-4 tbsp of tomato ketchup, 2 tbsp chilli sauce, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp lemon juice, salt to taste, mixed well
  
• 1 egg lightly beaten
  
• Spring onion or corriander for garnishing
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  

1. If you're using fresh crab, wipe dry, coat it with some corn flour and quickly deep fry for 30 seconds on high heat. Removed. For me my crab has been pre-cooked therefore I skipped this step.
2. In a wok, heat the vegetable oil. Once it's hot, fry the shallots, garlic and ginger until fragant-take care not to burnt them. Add the chopped chilli and sambal to sizzle.
3. Add the crab and stir fry for around 2-3 minutes on high heat. Then add in the sauce and continue to stir fry. Add the stock too. close the lid and let it simmer for 2 minutes. Then add in the eggs and continue to stir until the egg set. Off the heat. Garnish with spring onion/corriander.
   
4. Dish out onto plate, served with rice or Chinese bun.

Enjoy.....