Ingredients

• 1-1.5kg cooked whole crab
• 2 tbsp coconut cream
• 200ml/7fl oz coconut milk
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• in fine julienne
• small bunch sweet Thai basil
• picked
• lime juice
• to taste
• palm sugar
• to taste
• fish sauce
• to taste
• 300ml/10fl oz vegetable oil
• Note: This recipe originally uses Australian measurements. Equivalent measurements are as accurate as possible.
• This dish serves 1 devoted crab eater or 4 persons as part of a shared meal with steamed jasmine rice.

Directions

• Pull off the top shell of the crab
• discard the brown lungs and wash.
• Pull off the claws
• chop the body in half
• and crack the hard shell on the claws with the back of a cleaver.
• Preheat the vegetable oil to 180C/350F in a large wok and add the crabmeat.
• Stir fry the crabmeat for 1-2 minutes
• then remove from the oil and drain well on kitchen paper.
• To a large wok
• add 2 tbsp vegetable oil and the coconut cream. Cook on a high heat until the coconut cream fats separate and it becomes fragrant
• about 3 minutes.
• Add the chilli paste
• lime leaf julienne and chilli halves
• fry out until fragrant. This should take about 2 minutes or a touch longer for the homemade paste.
• Add the palm sugar and allow to caramelise
• then the fish sauce. The flavours of hot
• salty
• sour and sweet should be balanced.
• Add the coconut
• bring to the boil and simmer for a minute. At this point
• add the crab to the wok and continue to stir-fry until just cooked through
• about 5 to 6 minutes.
• Add the Thai basil and lime juice.