Name: Braised Mud Crab with Glass Noodles
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon sea salt; 100 ml (3½ fl oz) shaoxing; 1 teaspoon Thai shrimp paste, wrapped in foil and roasted until fragrant; 1 small handful of coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped; 1 tablespoon white peppercorns; 100 ml (3½ fl oz) Chinkiang vinegar; 2 spring onions (scallions), cut into julienne; 250 g (9 oz) glass noodles; 3 tablespoons finely chopped ginger; 100 ml (3½ fl oz) oyster sauce; ½ teaspoon sesame oil; 115 g (4 oz) sugar; 2 coriander (cilantro) roots, scraped and chopped; 1 tablespoon coriander seeds; 4 dried red chillies; 1 × 1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) live mud crab; 100 ml (3½ fl oz) light soy sauce; 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) fresh chicken stock

Preparation info

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Balance and Harmony

By Neil Perry

Published 2008

About

This is a great last-minute braise with a wonderful flavour. The noodles soak up the crab juices and you can suck the crab right out of the shell.

Ingredients

1 × 1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) live mud crab
250

Method

Kill the mud crab humanely, pull off the top shell, discard the grey gills and wash. Pull off the claws, chop the body in half and crack the shell on the claws with the back of a cleaver. Soak the noodles in warm water for 5 minutes, then drain well.

To make the spice paste, place the chillies in a dry heavy-based frying pan and r