Black pepper crabs are gutsy with a big punch in the face full of flavour. It’s a popular dish served in Malaysia and Singapore and our preferred way to have mud crabs. Diana Chan recommends getting them live but if you can’t, fresh or frozen are still okay.
You can find this recipe and more Singaporean and Malaysian dishes in The Golden Wok by Diana Chan.
Black Pepper Crab
Serves: 6
Preparation Time: 20 Minutes
Cooking Time: 20 Minutes
Ingredients
neutral-flavoured cooking oil, for deep-frying 2 kg (4 lb 6 oz) mud crabs, gills removed,
cleaned and cut into smaller pieces
2 teaspoons white sugar
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark cooking caramel (substitute with kecap manis)
Black Pepper Sauce
20 g (¾ oz) black peppercorns,
toasted and ground into a coarse powder
50 g (1¾ oz) red Asian shallots, finely sliced
20 g (¾ oz) piece fresh ginger, julienned
20 g (¾ oz) garlic, crushed
10 g (¼ oz) curry leaves
10 g (¼ oz) long red chilli, finely sliced
10 g (¼ oz) dried chillies
Method
Heat the oil in a wok over medium-high heat. To test if the oil is hot enough, put a wooden chopstick in the oil. If you see tiny bubbles gather around it, the oil is ready. (Alternatively, use a thermometer. It should register between 170–180C)
To clean the crab, crack the shell with something heavy like a pestle so that it is easier to remove the flesh. Pull the apron off. The ‘apron’ is the triangle shell on the bottom of the crab. This should also remove the shell from the front. Once the top shell is gone, you'll see the crab's insides. Along the top are two rows of opaque, feathery gills. Pull them off and discard them. The mandibles, at the front of the crab, can be removed simply by snapping them off. Discard these also. Rinse under running water. Break the body in half and remove the claws.
Gently add the crab pieces to the wok one at a time and cook until the shells turn bright red, turning every few minutes – this should take 8–10 minutes, depending on the size of your crabs. Drain on a paper towel.
Discard the excess oil from the wok, leaving about 2 tablespoons of the oil in the wok.
To make the sauce, return the wok to high heat and fry the peppercorns for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the shallots, ginger, garlic, curry leaves and chillies and fry for 1–2 minutes until fragrant.
Add the sugar, oyster sauce, soy sauce and caramel and stir to combine. Add the crab pieces and toss to coat evenly. Remove from the heat and you’re ready to serve.
Note: The most humane way to kill a fresh crab is to place it in the freezer for an hour or two to lower its body temperature so it falls asleep. You can also stab it through the rear nerve centre with a sharp knife.