Spicy, Sweet and Sour Flower Crabs

I am a seafood lover. Whenever I patronise restaurants offering Western menu, I will always opt for the seafood platter. If I have to make a choice between the various seafood dishes, I will go for the lobsters, shrimps, crabs, squids, clams, octopus, fish and oysters (in that order). However, out of these, the most common and which are eaten almost daily are the shrimps and the fishes. The rest are eaten sparingly due to cost, availability and health reasons.

I love crabs after lobsters and shrimps. But I seldom eat crabs outside; it can take quite a bit of time to eat them and it can also be quite messy even if we are provided with mallets and crab forks.  For mud crabs, I will usually buy home the cooked ones from the restaurants and eat them in the comfort of my home. But for the Flower Crabs, I will usually buy and cook them myself. One of my styles is to cook them in sweet and sour sauce.

Ingredients:

• 3 pieces of flowery crabs (about 600 g)
• 2 inches ginger, julienned
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 4 chili padi, chopped
• 2 tbsp minced bean paste
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 cup water

Method:

• Wash and remove the hard outer covering. Once the covering has been removed, then remove the grey gills. Cut the tips of the claws and legs. Use the pestle to crack the claws for easy removal during eating.

• Half each crab or quarter it if it is a big one.

• Heat up the wok with cooking oil.

• Add the ginger and fry till fragrant.

• Add the chopped garlic and fry till you can smell the aroma.

• Add the tomato wedges. Fry till they are soft. Press them to let the juice come out.

• Add the chili padi.

• Add the minced bean paste and stir till it is combined with the other ingredients.

• Add the flower crabs.

• Stir and add 1 cup of water.

• Cover the wok and let the sauce simmer for about 5 minutes.

• Remove the cover and give the crabs a few stir.

• Dish them out.