Photo: Title

Salt & Chilli Crab

​A hot and messy savoury snack perfect for diving in, a shameless party finger food.

Ingredients

1tsp salt 2tsp cracked black pepper 1tsp five spice powder 1tsp sugar 500 ml vegetable oil, plus extra for pan frying (you can use sunflower oil for this) 400g Crab Claws cracked into pieces with shell on ( I used Taste the Difference, 380g by Sainsbury’s)  1 banana shallot finely diced 3 cloves chopped garlic 2 red chillies finely chopped 4 spring onions, sliced into long diagonal pieces 1tbsp chopped coriander 2 limes quartered

Method

Dry roast the salt, pepper and Chinese five spice powder in a pan for 30 seconds. Remove the mixture from the pan and allow to cool before adding the sugar. Set aside in a small bowlIn a deep frying pan or wok, bring the oil to 180°C (be careful when using hot oil, keep away from children and do not leave 

Fry Crab claws two at a time to keep the oil at a consistent temperature and fry for just 1 minute. Once cooked, remove the crab meat from the oil and place directly onto a kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil. Repeat with the remaining meat until they are all cooked and set to one sideBring a wok to a high heat, add a little of the oil used when deep frying the crab meat and add the banana shallots, garlic and chilli and cook until fragrant. Now add the cooked crab meat and sprinkle with the salt, pepper and five spice mix whilst tossing in the pan.

Finally add the spring onion and the frozen coriander

Remove from the wok and serve on a bed of lettuce leaves and segments of lime.