Chilli Crabs at Fatty Crabs

Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur

One evening on my recent trip to Malaysia my nieces brought me to one of their favourite restaurants in KL - Fatty Crabs. Its a very popular city eatery specialising in Malay cuisine and in particular as the name suggests crab and all kinds of shell fish. We had great fun and a good laugh slowly working our way through the fare but take note this is not a meal for the faint hearted, those in a rush or the prissy!  Now you may think tackling whole crab is a lot of work for a little reward and you are of course entitled to your opinion but in my view nothing beats the rewarding taste of the rich crab meat covered in a tangy chilli sauce won with a little effort from its tough exoskeletal armour.

Back in London I really wanted to see if I could recreate this very memorable total eating experience. If you are tempted by this recipe but the prospect is a bit too daunting we would recommend you try cooking just crab claws or indeed an alternative more meaty crustacean such as lobster. The correct tools are essential. Forget a knife and fork which are useless, its a case of fingers with much needed help from a nut cracker type implement to break the shell. Fatty Crab provides small hammers as well as a long forked prong to extract the meat which we would say are also indispensable. An apron or bib which covers you from head to foot is advisable to avoid costly dry cleaning bills, oh, and finger bowls are useful too!

Incredibly Fed Crab in Chilli Sauce 

Ingredients
2 Large Cooked Mud crabs or other shell fish
1 Large Onion (Chopped)
2 Red Chillies (Chopped)
1 Tbsp Garlic Paste
1 Tbsp Ginger Paste
8 Tbsp Ketchup
4 Tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce
1 Tbsp Light Soy
1 Tbsp Oyster Sauce
2 Tbsp Rice Wine
4 Tbsp Wine Vinegar
2 Tbsp Woscester Sauce
4 Tbsp Sugar
2 Tbsp Belacan
1 Stick Lemon Grass (Bruised)
4 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
Spring onion (Garnish)

Method
To make the sauce blend onion, chillies and belacan to a paste and fry on heated wok for 2-3 minutes. Add garlic, lemongrass and ginger and fry for another 3 minutes before adding the liquid ingredients and frying for a further 2 minutes then add sugar. If mixture is too thick let down with water. Simmer for 5 minutes. Adjust to taste. Sauce should be spicy and sweet. Finally add the cooked crab pieces, crab claws or lobster into the sauce and toss for a few minutes ensuring each piece is well coated. Transfer to a large serving dish and garnish with spring onion. Serve with generous amounts of warm or toasted bread to mop up the delicious sauce!




Posted by incredibly fed