Tamarind crab

Perched on a rock near the shore, Luke cooks blue swimmer crab with a simple sauce of tamarind, fish sauce and palm sugar.

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 red Asian shallots, finely sliced
• ½ onion, cut into thick wedges
• 1 tbsp black or kampot peppercorns
• 2 medium-sized blue swimmer crabs, cleaned, quartered
• 1 handful Khmer basil or Thai basil
• 1 long red chilli, finely sliced

Tamarind sauce

• 125 ml tamarind water
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp liquid palm sugar or shaved palm sugar (jaggery)

Instructions

Combine the tamarind sauce ingredients in a mixing bowl with a pinch of sea salt. Mix well, and then set aside.

Add the vegetable oil, garlic, shallots and onion to a hot wok. Stir-fry over a high heat for 30 seconds, or until fragrant.

Add the peppercorns and crab and toss for 7 minutes. Add the tamarind sauce and cook for a further minute, or until the crab pieces are cooked through.

Add the basil and chilli, toss once and serve. Garnish with more basil and chilli, if desired.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.