The best way to make crab, hands down. Originally adapted from a cookbook but they call for a small amount of the chili seasoning. You can also add shrimp or calamari for a little more variety.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs crabs – blue, Dungeness, or other medium to large crabs, cracked and cleaned
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 10 dried red chiles
- a pinch or two salt
- 3 tablespoon, peanut oil
- 10 cloves of garlic, minced or crushed
- 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons coarsely ground black peppercorns
- 1/2 cup mild seafood or chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons Thai oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce, to taste
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 green onions, cut into thin rounds (use both white and green parts)
- 2 orange or red serrano, jalapeno, or Fresno peppers, cut in half lengthwise, then sliced diagonal 1/4 inch thick with seeds.
Instructions
Prepare the Crabs
If they aren’t cracked and cleaned for you, prepare the crabs.
Pry crab open, remove gills and rinse. For blue crabs or other smaller crabs, chop down the middle of the body, leaving legs and claws attached. For Dungeness or large crabs, chop claws and legs off and separate each into two pieces at the joints. Then, chop down the middle of the body and further chop each half into 2 – 3 pieces. Lightly crack shells of legs and claws, enough so that the sauce can seep in during cooking.
Prepare the Seasonings
In a small, dry pan, roast the cumin and coriander seeds over medium heat until they are aromatic and evenly darkened. Pulverize with a mortar and pestle or a clean electric grinder. Using the same pan, roast the dried red chilis with the salt, stirring often, until they are dark red and slightly charred. Grind to a fine powder and measure out 2 tablespoons for this recipe. Store the remainder for the next time.
Cook
- Steam white rice to serve with the meal.
- Heat a wok over high heat until it begins to smoke. Swirl the oil to coat the wok surface.
- Saute the garlic for about 15-20 seconds until golden and aromatic.
- Follow with the black pepper, cumin, coriander and ground chilis.
- Stir through and add the crab pieces. Stir-fry about 1 minute and when most of the crab has turned pink (or if using cooked crab, another few minutes to heat through), add stock and sauces.
- Bring to a boil and toss to coat well. Add the fresh peppers and scallions.
- Serve with steamed rice and top with chopped cilantro if desired.
