2live medium sized crabstotal weight about 2 kg (4.4 lb) if you can only get cooked, that's fine too
2tomatoesquartered
2Tbsptomato ketchup
2Tbsptamarindsee how to prepare below
4Tbspwater (for the tamarind)
2Tbspvegetable oil
½tspsalt
½tspwhite sugar(if you need it)
125mlwater
1egglightly beaten
1small handfulfresh coriander leaves(cilantro)
1small handfulchiveschopped
Grind to a paste
1medium onion
3red Thai or any bird's eye chillies
3clovesgarlic
5cmfresh ginger
2Tbsptaucheo(soybean paste) or use same amount of hoisin sauce (found in supermarkets)
Instructions
To prepare the tamarind
Soak the pulp in the water for 10-20 minutes. The hotter the water, the less time you need.
After the soaking time, give it all good mix, squeezing the pulp with your fingers, then strain through a medium or large mesh sieve. Discard the seeds and pulp.
Let's prep the crabs
If your crabs have been kept in the fridge, they should be dopey, hardly moving and easy to handle. Still, watch out for the claws if they've not been tied up. Turn the crab over and locate the pointy flap. Lift it, and you'll see a small hole.
Using a sharp, pointy knife or screwdriver, plunge it straight through until you touch the shell on the other side. This should kill it instantly.
Flip the crab over, drain the yucky liquid and give it a rinse under running water. You can halve it and separate the legs and claws if you like, especially if your crabs are large. You'll see in the video that it's easier to fit them into the wok to cook, when they are large.
Let's get cooking
Heat oil in a large wok and fry the paste ingredients until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, water, ketchup, tamarind, then crabs and give it all a good stir. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes until the crabs are done.
Taste and add more salt if needed. If you find the sauce too spicy, add some sugar.
Add the egg and gently mix it in for 20 seconds, and turn the heat off and take the wok off the heat. The egg doesn’t want very long as you want wisps of it, not scrambled bits.