Crabs .... Singaporeans favourite....
I also like crabs. But since I started a family more than a decade ago, I did not have the chance / time to sit and eat crabs peacefully and till I am full of crabs :) Meals were always hastily completed. Now, as my brood grows older and can take care of themselves, I have more time to enjoy myself.
My family members also enjoy crabs a lot. However, it was primarily due to the old folks that I decided to try and cook the dish for them while they can still taste them...... Of course, the younger ones in the family get to benefit !!! :)
Anyway, time flies and it has been at least 1.5 years since I last cooked crabs. The recipe I have is obtained from a magazine named : Oriental Cuisine (美味风彩). In every publication of 美味风彩,it focuses on a different cuisine. The recipes are also very simple and tasty. If you ever chance upon them, do take a look.
Doesn't these make you drool ? Go and try it! It's really simple !
Ingredients :
4 crabs
5 tbsp of melted salted butter
2 tbsp cooking oil
3 cloves garlic (Chopped)
5 tbsp coarsely ground black peppercorns
For the sauce (Seasoning) :
1/4 cup water (about 50ml)
3 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
1/2 tsp sugar
salt to taste
Method :
1) Cut and clean the crabs.
2) In a bowl, combine all the seasoning ingredients, set aside.
3) Heat butter together with the cooking oil. Then add the garlic and stir briefly or until the garlic is light golden in colour and fragrant.
4) Quickly toss in the black pepper for a few second before adding the seasoning ingredients.
5) Add in crabs, bring to a quick boil and cover the wok with a lid for 8-10 minutes. Adjust seasoning to taste.
6) If need be, add in thickening solution (1/2tsp tapioca flour + 1 tbsp water). Stir until well combined.
7) Remove from heat and serve immediately.
After thoughts :
1) For the crabs, I would say, they should weigh at least 500-600 each.
2) Based on cooking conversion measurement found on internet, 5 tbps melted butter = 90g (UK metric) or 75g (US metric). For me, I like to use more than 90g of butter as cooking with butter is really fragrant! Having said that, should not be dumping in way too much.
3) I usually get black peppercorns (whole), pound them in a mortar and pestle in a traditional way till they break up into smaller pieces. Then I will fry them in a wok first till I can smell the fresh black
pepper.
