Name: Stir-Fried Mud Crab with Curry Powder
Cuisine: China
Ingredients: 1 bunch spring onions (scallions), cut into 2 cm (¾ inch) lengths; 1 tablespoon sugar; a pinch of sea salt; 2 tablespoons fish sauce; ½ knob of ginger, peeled and chopped; 3 tablespoons coconut milk; 2 long red chillies, deseeded and chopped; juice of 1 lime; 3 tablespoons curry powder; 2 cloves garlic; 1 small handful of coriander (cilantro) leaves; 2 eggs, lightly beaten; 1 × 1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) mud crab; vegetable oil, for deep-frying; 2 red shallots, chopped

Preparation info

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Balance and Harmony

By Neil Perry

Published 2008

About

This is an ‘I love my friends’ or ‘I’m spoiling myself’ dish. The egg is the key as it helps the flavours stick to the crab.

My father’s great love was mud crab and I have followed in his footsteps. It is, to me, the greatest crab I’ve ever tasted. The great thing about it is that it’s robust enough to handle Asian flavours with aplomb but also happy picked and dressed with lemon and extra virgin olive oil.