Food by Patrick Chan
Image by Nik Voon
Taucheo Dungeness Crab
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients:
• 2 Live Dungeness Crabs
• 3 tbsp Taucheo Beans (Diced)
• 5 Cloves Garlic (Diced)
• 5 tbsp Vegetable Oil
• ¾ tbsp Light Soy Sauce
• 1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
• 2 tsp Sugar
• ¼ tsp Ground White Pepper
• 1¾ cup Recently Boiled Water
Rempah to be blended:
• 10 Cloves Garlic (Whole)
• 5 Shallots (Whole)
• 2 Red Chillies
• 30 grams of Ginger (Peeled)
Slurry:
• 1 tbsp Corn Starch
• 4 tbsp Water
Garnish:
• 3 - 4 stalks Spring Onions
Directions:
1 To start, clean and cut 2 whole Dungeness Crabs. For the rempah - blend 10 cloves of garlic, 5 shallots, 2 chillies and 30g ginger to a fine paste and set it aside. Finely dice remaining 5 cloves of garlic and 3 tbsp taucheo beans and set them aside as well. While you've got your chopping board out, thinly slice 3 - 4 stalks of spring onions for garnishing the dish later.
2 Heat oil in a wok on medium-high heat. Fry rempah till fragrant and oil starts to separate slightly. Add in the finely diced garlic and taucheo beans - fry the mixture for about 2 mins to allow the garlic and taucheo beans to cook down slightly. Add ¾ tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 2 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp of ground white pepper and mix well.
3 Add in the cleaned and cut crabs (except the top shells) and stir to ensure that they're well coated with the rempah. Once done, add water and stir to combine before placing the top shells of the crabs in the wok. Cover the wok and simmer the crabs for 10 mins till cooked.
4 While the crabs are simmering, mix 1 tbsp of corn starch with 4 tbsp of water to make the slurry and set aside for later use - this will act as a thickening agent for your sauce once the crabs are cooked.
5 Once the crabs are cooked, reduce the heat to low. To avoid over cooking the crabs more than you need to, remove them from the wok and plate them before finishing the sauce. Taste the sauce for seasoning - adjust accordingly if necessary*. Once you feel like you've nailed the flavour of your sauce, add in the corn starch slurry a tbsp at a time and stir well after each addition. The sauce should reach a gravy-like consistency just slightly thinner/looser than your average chili crab sauce. Depending on how much moisture the crabs produce while cooking, you may not need to use all the slurry, so watch it carefully to avoid over potential thickening.
*The flavour profile you’d be looking for would be a savoury gravy with a touch of
sweetness for balance. Depending on the chillies used, there may be a slight spiciness to the dish however it should be mild.
6 Once your sauce is ready, spoon it over the crabs and garnish with sliced spring onions.
7 Finally, dig in and get your hands dirty. Enjoy the soft and easy-to-crack-open Dungeness Crabs!
Visit our Instagram @globalliveseafood for the full recipe video!