Braised Mud Crab with Glass Noodles

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

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

Asia
Thailand
Main course
Noodles
South East Asia

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