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Chilli Crab

by Spirit Away

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Inspiration

They say fat is flavor, and we have all come to accept that good food is usually sinful and healthy food is mostly awful.

In fact, calories, fats and carbs have never been a concern for us, until recently a few of our family members have taken ill and needed to watch their diets. Visits to the dieticians and online research opened our eyes to how food can be both healthy AND tasty, if prepared correctly.

Our family loves Chilli Crab, but hate not being able to clean the gravy off the plate without guilt, owing to highly processed-ingredients like chilli sauce, sambal and ketchup, unhealthy cooking methods like oil blanching and liberal use of salt and sugar.

Thus, we took this opportunity to create a healthier version of Chilli Crab – one that allows us to clean off the plate without guilt.

In our recipe, we ditched all the highly-processed ingredients and opted to make our own chilli and tomato pastes from scratch using fresh/ lightly-processed ingredients so that we can control the amount of salt, sugar and oil used. We used only ¼ tsp of salt and 2.5tbsp of olive oil as condiments. Instead of adding sugar, we relied on the caramelization of fresh tomatoes and red bell peppers to add more nutrients and fiber on top of giving a natural sweetness to the dish. The red bell peppers also contribute to the rich color of the gravy that was traditionally achieved by adding sambal (chilli paste that is slow-cooked in a large amount of oil). We lock in the flavor of the crab by steaming instead of blanching it with oil, then adding the steamed crab juices to the gravy. This way, we manage to strip the sins from the dish while still retaining its essence and taste!

Ingredients

1 Carrot
1 Corn
1 Onion
1/2 Garlic
5g Ginger
2 Shallots
6 Red chillies
1 Bird's eye chillies
5 Dried chillies
1/2 Lemongrass
Lime
3 Tomatoes
1 Red bell peppers
Mantou (Quantity is up to consumption preference)
2 Crab (Sri Lankan/Mud)
1 Egg
Olive oil
Salt
1 stalk of Curry leaves

Cooking Instructions

Skin and chop 1 carrot, 1 onion and 1 corn and cook in 1.6 liters of water till onion disintegrates to make vegetable broth.
Cut 3 tomatoes into quarters and 1 red bell pepper into strips.
Caramelize the tomatoes and red bell peppers separately in a non-stick pan with ½ tsp of olive oil each. Place cut side down on pan till browned and flip when done. This will release the natural sugars in the tomatoes and pepper, so the dish will be naturally sweet. Remove the tomato skins when caramelized. Puree separately with hand blender to obtain thick pastes.
Soak 5 dried chillies overnight to re-hydrate. (Or boil in water till soft)
Skin and chop ½ whole garlic, 5g of ginger, 2 shallots and ½ piece of lemongrass stem.
Remove seeds and stems of 6 red chillies and 1 bird's eye chilli. Drain dried chillies.
Blend/pound garlic, ginger, shallots, lemongrass and all the chillies in blender with some vegetable broth and lime juice to create the chilli paste.
Clean and chop crab into pieces, cracking the shell at the claws
Place the crab pieces in a deep tray
Bring a pot of water to boil before putting the tray of crab in to steam for approximately 10 minutes
Separate the crab and juices
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in non-stick pan to sauté chilli paste, red bell pepper paste and 1 stalk of curry leaves till fragrant.
Add in tomato paste and fold till combined. Add 3 small ladles of vegetable broth and stir till gravy reduces and thickens. Add ¼ tsp of salt for taste.
Pour in the crab juices from steaming the crab and stir to combine.
Combine crab pieces and gravy. Stir for a few minutes to infuse the crab with gravy.
Pour a lightly-beaten egg over the mixture. Stir and simmer for another 3 minutes to thicken.
Plate with sprinkles of coriander and served with air fried / steamed mantou

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Chilli Crab

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