Curried Crab with Peppers and Shallots

Crabmeat is a highly prized seafood in Hong Kong (as everywhere) and crabs are always bought live in the markets to ensure that the delicate but fragile flavour is intact. The green crab is popular in Hong Kong, and I have found that the California Dungeness crab is very similar in its meatiness and flavour. When green crabs are sold in Hong Kong markets, they are sorted by sex: the females with roe (or eggs) are the more expensive, the roe being much in demand for use in special dishes.