Chilli Crabs

Chilli crabs, a must order dish in Singapore. I haven’t tried the authentic Singaporean chilli crabs before but this version must be somewhere there (hopefully). A super-easy chilli crabs recipe from my recipe guru Fariza. Sweet, sour, juicy with a hint of spice – definitely a crowd pleaser. The best thing is, all the ingredients are probably sitting in your pantry as we speak.

Terry is a BIG fan of crabs but I have always avoided crabs at the supermarket like a plague because I don’t know what to do with them. I guess the clamps and shell and the size scared me! Terry must be craving for crabs really bad because one day, he bought 4 live crabs at the Avondale morning market while my back was turned buying onions! It was really cheap he said. Thank goodness for Fariza 

Even armed with Fariza’s recipe, I still had another problem. I didn’t know how to prepare the crabs for cooking. I have frozen the poor crabs to death from the day before and determined to just do it. I was surprised at how easy it actually was! With the crab’s belly facing upward, I stuck the knife’s tip into it’s behind, held the top shell down with it and pulled its body upward. Voila, the top shell separated revealing the juicy flesh. I halved each crab symmetrically and rinsed everything. Now let’s start cooking!

Ingredients:

• Approximately 1 kg of crabs (4 medium-sized) - cleaned, top shell removed and halved
• Half cup sweet chilli sauce (I used Thai sweet chilli sauce)
• Half cup ketchup
• 1 teaspoon curry powder (I used meat curry powder)
• 1 teaspoon chilli paste or 1 fresh red chilli chopped fine (optional)
• 2 medium onions – one sliced, the other chopped fine
• 1 inch bulb of ginger – sliced
• 3 cloves garlic – chopped fine
• 2-3 tablespoons cooking oil
• 2-3 tablespoons water

Method:

1. In a medium saucepan, stir fry garlic, onion, ginger and chilli paste (if using) on medium heat until soft. 
2. Turn to low heat, cover with lid and let it fry on its own as you prepare sauce mix.
3. In a bowl, mix sweet chilli sauce, ketchup, curry powder and add water until you get a thick soup consistency.
4. Pour sauce mix into saucepan, stir and turn to high heat.
5. As the sauce boils, add in the crabs, stir gently so that crabs are covered or smeared with sauce.
6. Add in sliced onions (no need to stir in), turn to low heat, cover and simmer until crabs turn pink. If you find sauce is too thick, add some water.
7. Serve hot with rice or fried mantou buns.

The verdict - really yummy chilli crabs, Terry approves! I love the chilli sauce with a hint of curry and the rich flavours from the crab juices. Excellent with rice or bread. Crabs can now be on my menu thanks to Fariza

Try this easy chilli crabs recipe yourself!

P.S. This fits the plan perfectly too (evil grinnnnn….)

 

Malaysian Chicken Satay With Peanut Sauce

Our little project one weekend was to make Malaysian chicken satay with peanut sauce (which is also good for Pasembur, see end of post) - delicious spicy-sweet yumminess of grilled chicken meat on skewers served with a rich peanut sauce. There are many versions of Malay chicken satay recipe on the internet, this particular one was obtained from my friend Fariza who has tried, tested and proven that this recipe produces the most authentic Malay satay flavour!

The recipe is actually a simple one, but it calls for a variety of spices that I had to hunt around for. But once you managed to gather these, following it is easy-peasy. There are basically two main parts in executing this recipe; you have the chicken satay marinade, and the peanut sauce. Both of them uses similar spices but in different portions.These spices are galanghal, coriander seeds, cumin, lemongrass, turmeric and ginger. And oh also don’t forget bamboo sticks as skewers. Now, let’s get started!

Chicken Satay

1. Blend the following until a paste is formed:

• 1 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 1/2 tablespoon white pepper
• 1 and a half tablespoons coriander seeds
• 1-inch bulb of galanghal
• 1-inch bulb of ginger
• 2 stalks lemongrass
• 3 cloves garlic

2. Season the paste by stirring in the following:

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 tablespoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

3. Cut up 500 grams of chicken flesh into bite size pieces, marinade at least 2 hours with all the above.

4. Once marinated, stick about 4-5 pieces of chicken bites onto a skewer. Repeat until everything is skewered.

5. Grill chicken satay skewers in an oven preheated at 180 degree Celcius for about 30 minutes or until cooked, basting once in between with the leftover marinade.

Peanut Sauce

6. Blend the following until a paste is formed:

• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 tablespoon coriander seeds
• Half-inch bulb of galanghal
• Half-inch bulb of ginger
• 10 pieces dried red chilli or 1 tablespoon of chilli paste
• 1/2 tablespoon of dried shrimp
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3-4 medium onions
• 1 stalk lemongrass

7. Mix the following ingredients in a separate bowl:

• 150 grams of raw peanuts (shelled and skinned), pounded coarsely
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
• 1-2 tablespoons of tamarind paste diluted with 2 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

8. Sautee the blended paste (step 6) in about half a cup of hot oil in a medium saucepan, stirring frequently until fragrant about 15 minutes.

9. Pour in ingredients of step 7 into the saucepan and simmer in low heat, covered for about 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and/or sugar if necessary.

10. Serve chicken satay with fresh cucumber and onion cubes, with hot peanut sauce as dip.

The result – very authentic Malaysian chicken satay! This recipe works well for beef and lamb too.

If there is leftover peanut sauce, don’t throw it out, we made our own version of Pasembur, a Malaysian-Indian salad out of it. We used blanched and cut Chinese Spinach (Ong Choy), boiled potato cubes, shredded carrots, beansprouts, boiled eggs (quartered) and fried wanton pastry broken into bite sizes then poured the peanut sauce over as dressing. For a more hearty meal, mix in a serving of spaghetti noodles, cooked slightly a little over al-dente. Finger-lickin’ good!

Oooh, writing this post makes me crave for some authentic Malaysian chicken satay and peanut sauce!

Happy trying!