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Chilli Crabs
Posted under FoodThis post is dedicated to all crab lovers. From selecting your crabs to cleaning them and finally to the wok.
Mum never liked cleaning crabs. She always says “If you buy crabs, I can cook for you BUT you have to clean it”. This is because Mum had the experience of being snapped by a crab many many years ago. 
She yelled her head off when the crab snapped on her finger and Dad had to rush to her rescue by breaking the claw from the crab’s body… and the claw still held on firmly on Mum’s finger. 
5 crabs!
I bought these five beauties for RM20 last Saturday. Once, Shel shared with Ginger, Ju and me on how to select a good crab. Shel’s colleague said “The crab has to be passive and doesn’t move much. That means it is fleshy.” But Shel said, “What if the crab is lazy?”. If I were there, probably I would say “What is the crab is hungry? Probably they caught it yesterday and it has not eaten all day long”. LOL! Anyway, I usually let the crab seller choose for me. 
To select female and male crabs, you have to turn it over and look at the V part…
Identifying female & male crabs
There are many ways to kill crabs. Some people dip them into hot water. Some put them in freezer. Others just raise the chopper and hack them into half. For me, I poke them with chopsticks! 
Make sure the crabs are really dead before you cut the strings or you’ll go through the same ordeal that my mum did! Use a brush to scrub the crabs, making sure all dirt are washed away. Then use a chopper to cut the ends of their sharp walking legs. Remove the shell by flipping the V part and pull the crab’s body away from the shell. Next remove all the lungs, chop the crab into half, and then crush the claws using a pestle.
Preparing the crabs for wok
The cleaning part is completed!
And now, getting ready the sambal…blend some lemongrass, chilli, shallots and garlic together. You’ll also need some chilli sauce, tomato sauce, eggs and some salt.
Ingredients and crabs in wok!
Fry the sambal till fragrant, then put in the crabs. Stir to make sure the sambal covered the crabs evenly. Cover the wok for about a minute to ensure that the crabs are completely cooked. Remove the cover, add some chilli sauce, tomato sauce, some salt, stir the crabs and finally add the eggs.
Chilli crabs ready to be served
The chilli crabs are finally ready for the dining table! 
…hmm…got mint as deco some more. I never put efforts in presentation…as long as good to eat, okay liao. 
