Typhoon Shelter Crab

Ingredients

• 2 mud crabs or brown crabs, about 1.2kg in total
• 3 tbsp cornflour
• 600ml neutral oil, for frying
• 120g garlic (about 20 cloves)
• 60g panko breadcrumbs
• 8 dried red chillies
• 2 fresh red chillies
• 1 tbsp fermented black beans
• 1 stalk lemongrass
• 3 spring onions
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper

Before you cook

• Clean the crabs, lift off the top shells, and pull away the gills.
• Cut each crab into four to six pieces and crack the claws with the back of a heavy knife.
• Peel and chop the garlic very finely, then rinse it and squeeze it dry in a cloth.
• Rinse the fermented black beans and chop the lemongrass, chillies and spring onions finely.
• Dust the crab pieces with the cornflour, shaking off the excess.

Steps

1. Pour the oil into a wok and heat it to 180C.
2. Fry the crab in two batches for 3 minutes each, until the shells turn bright orange.
3. Lift the crab out onto kitchen paper.
4. Let the oil cool to around 130C, low enough that a shred of garlic barely sizzles.
5. Add half the chopped garlic and fry for 4 minutes, stirring constantly, until it turns pale straw gold.
6. Scoop that garlic straight out onto kitchen paper, because it keeps browning off the heat.
7. Fry the second batch of garlic the same way and drain it with the first.
8. Pour off all but 3 tablespoons of the oil.
9. Add the breadcrumbs and toast them for 2 minutes, until golden and sandy.
10. Add the dried chillies, fresh chillies, black beans and lemongrass and stir for 1 minute.
11. Return the crab to the wok and splash in the Shaoxing wine.
12. Toss over high heat for 2 minutes, until the crab is coated and steaming.
13. Tip in the fried garlic with the sugar, salt and white pepper.
14. Toss everything for 30 seconds and turn off the heat before the garlic darkens.
15. Pile onto a warm platter, scraping up every crumb, and scatter with spring onion.
16. Eat with your hands, and keep a bowl for the shells.