Black Pepper Crabs

Ingredients:

1kg crab

3 tbsp keecap manis (sweet soy sauce)

3 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp black pepper

1 tbsp white pepper

1 large white onions

1 tbsp grated ginger

1 bulb garlic

1. Put the crab to sleep in ice water.

2. Heat pan, place the crab add rock salt, cover until orange (almost cooked)

3. Remove from fire, clean the crab, remove the gills, chop to desired serving size. Set aside.

4. Prepare the sauce mixture. In a bowl, mix the keecap manis, oyster sauce and sugar. Set aside.

5. In a pan, heat butter. Saute the onions, ginger, garlic.

6. Add the black and white pepper.

7. Add in the sauce mixture.

8. Add in the crabs to cook. Then serve.

Singaporean Black Pepper Crabs

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons kecap manis
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
3 tablespoons caster sugar
2 kg mud crabs
1 1/2 tablespoons oil
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 -2 red chilli, finely chopped, optional
1 1/2 tablespoons black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons white pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
2 spring onions, finely chopped, optional
1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander, optional

1.  Clean, put the crabs to sleep and cook.  Follow steps 1 to 10 here.
2.  Prepare sauce mixture: mix kecap manis, oyster sauce, sugar and 3 tablespoons water in a small bowl, stir, then set aside.  
3.  Heat oil in wok, add the butter, ginger, garlic, chilli, black and white peppers and coriander; stir fry for 30 seconds.
4.  Add the sauce mixture and stir; bring to a boil, then simmer 2 minutes.
5.  Add in the cooked crabs, toss to coat the sauce for 2 minutes.
6.  Remove from fire and transfer to a serving plate.  Garnish with spring onions and coriander.  

Crab and Sotanghon

Ingredients:

1 package of Sotanghon (clear vermicelli/mung beans noodles )
4 mud crabs cut in 4
4 cups of chicken stock (with 2 chicken bouillon)
1/2 cup of green onions
1 head of garlic chopped (1tbsp)
1 thumb size of ginger chopped (2-3 tbsp)

3 tbsp sliced shallots
3 tbsp oyster sauce
4 tbsp kikoman soy sauce

1 tsp sugar
1 package of spinach
1 cup of dry black chinese mushroom (cut very thin)

2 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp regular oil
Salt

Pepper

1.  Soak dry sotanghon in warm water until soft, then drain. 

2.  Put crabs to sleep, clean crabs and cut into 4 large pieces.  See this link how to put crabs into sleep.

3.  Heat up a pan and oil and when it is smoking, saute ginger, garlic, shallots and mushroom and stir briskly. 

4.  Add the crab pieces and toss for a minute or two, on high heat.

5.  Add stock 

6.  Add soy sauce, oyster sauce and sugar.  

7.  Add the noodles and cook until soft and liquid has been sucked into the noodle and brings flavor, for about 10 minutes. 

8.  Add some chopped spinach and cook a minute longer.

9.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  

10. Add sesame oil.

Crabs with Alavars Sauce

Crabs have been one of my favorite.  A friend invited me over for lunch and as soon as we learned that crabs will be served, we took the opportunity to learn how she prepares them.

First things first, how to kill a crab.  One can be brutal, by putting live crabs in hot couldron or cutting it half while alive or one can be a little bit humane with freezing them:

1. Wash crabs in running water.

2. Place live crabs in a big pan, put ice then add water just enough to cover half of it.  

3. The ice cold water puts them to sleep after 20-30 minutes.

Ingredients:

6 kgs jumbo crabs

3 white onions

3 garlic bulbs finely chopped

Tub of Alavar Sauce

Salt

Oil

4. On high heat, heat pan, put in the crabs, sprinkle with salt and cover to steam.  The crabs will produce its own fluids, if there's none, add a little bit of water.

5. Cover the pan to steam.

Halfway, cut and remove the straw tied to its claws/body.

6. Continue cooking until orange.

7. Remove from fire, then clean with water, remove the abdomen, carapace (top shell), gills, and other undesired parts and then chop.  See this link http://www.chow.com/recipes/30377-basic-steamed-blue-crabs for step by step instruction how to clean it.

8.  Heat the same pan with a little oil, saute chopped onions.

9. When it is half done, add in and saute the chopped garlic.

10. Add in the chopped crabs.

11. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

12. Pour in a tub of alavar sauce for a wet saucy mixture (like the cooked crab below). If you prefer to have it just slightly coated, half a cup of alavar sauce to one jumbo crab will do.

Alavar Sauce can be bought from Zamboanga.  

I bumped into this facebook account that sells them in Cebu but haven't bought from them:

www.facebook.com/alavarsaucecebu

Contact number: 09772154208 for P250 for half a kilo or P400 for a kilo.

13. Mix together.

14. Remove from fire and transfer to a serving plate.

Wow that was easy.  Now i'm hungry again. 😋