Mud Crab with Ginger and Spring Onion
Succulent Top End mud crab pieces stir-fried with fragrant ginger, spring onions, and a glossy Cantonese savoury sauce.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 40 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Calories
- 310 kcal
Equipment
- •Wok or large heavy frypan
- •Kitchen tongs
- •Crab cracker or meat mallet
- •Small mixing bowl
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 310 kcal
- fat
- 15 g
- carbs
- 12 g
- fibre
- 1 g
- protein
- 28 g
- calories
- 310 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Lightly crack the large crab claws with a kitchen mallet so flavours penetrate during cooking.
- 2
Toss the crab pieces lightly in 30 grams of cornflour until evenly coated.
- 3
Mix the chicken stock, Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and white pepper in a bowl.
- 4
Dissolve the remaining 10 grams of cornflour with two tablespoons of water in a small cup.
- 5
Heat the vegetable oil in a large wok over high heat until shimmering.
- 6
Fry the crab pieces in batches for three minutes until the shells turn bright orange, then remove.
- 7
Add the ginger, garlic, and the white parts of the spring onions to the hot wok.
- 8
Stir-fry the aromatics for one minute until fragrant and lightly coloured.
- 9
Return the crab pieces to the wok and pour over the stock sauce mixture.
- 10
Cover the wok with a lid and simmer over medium-high heat for four minutes.
- 11
Stir in the green spring onion tops and the cornflour slurry to thicken the sauce until glossy.
- 12
Drizzle with sesame oil and toss well before transferring to a warm platter.
Chef's tips
Crack the shell segments gently so you do not splinter small shell fragments into the crab meat. Prepare all sauce ingredients before heating the wok, as stir-frying crab moves very quickly.
Ingredient substitutions
- mud crab → blue swimmer crab or green king prawns
- Shaoxing cooking wine → dry sherry or extra chicken stock with a splash of rice vinegar
- oyster sauce → vegetarian mushroom stir-fry sauce
Storage
Store leftover crab in an airtight container in the refrigerator and eat within one day.
Reheating
Reheat gently in a covered frypan over low heat with two tablespoons of water until steaming hot.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Over-cracking the crab claws, which leaves splintered shell pieces through the sauce.
- •Adding the tender spring onion greens too early, which makes them soggy and dull.
- •Boiling the crab too long, which toughens the delicate, naturally sweet meat.
Serving suggestions
Cooked Mud Crab with Ginger and Spring Onion?
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