When we first moved to Washington 15 years ago, Dungeness crabs were often $5 or $6 a pound. Nowadays they’re almost as expensive as Maine lobster is hereabouts. However, we splurged tonight for one of our favorite dishes, Singapore chili crab.
The average Dungeness crab weighs about 2 pounds, of which about 1/4 is meat. One crab serves two people quite amply. Our favorite Singapore chili crab recipe comes from Anya Von Bremzen’s Terrific Pacific cookbook. First you boil the live crab briefly. Some folks will buy a precooked crab or one that’s been killed and eviscerated at the market. Cooking it yourself assures that you’ve got a fresh crustacean. After boiling, take out the gills and guts and quarter the crab.
Preparing the rest of the dish is simple. First you stir-fry a mixture of garlic, ginger, shallots, and dried Thai chilis. A ketchup-based mixture gets stirred in, followed by the crab. Toss and cook the crab in the sauce for several minutes. The crab is taken out of the pan/wok, and the sauce is thickened with cornstarch paste and an egg. Turn off the burner before you add the egg to make sure that you don’t wind up with scrambled egg. Pour the sauce over the crab pieces and start eating.
Eating any crab is a messy affair. You’re cracking, cutting, and/or hammering the sucker to get at the meat. Shell and sauce are bound to land on your lap and anything stainable. Most crab restaurants will have butcher paper on the tables. Ample amounts of paper towels are recommended. We served the crab with rice to sop up any excess sauce. I also made a cucumber salad to cut the richness of the crab. An India Pale Ale works as the beverage. A fine mess.
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