Ingredients

Serves 4

Prep: 20 min

Cook: 10 min

4 garlic cloves, preferably new season

50g piece of fresh ginger

1 small red chilli (bird's eye)

125g spring onions

50g bunch coriander

2 cooked crabs, approx 1.5kg each

2 tbsp groundnut oil

3 tbsp Kikkoman soy sauce

2 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry or white wine

250ml chicken stock (a cube is fine)

Method

Peel and finely slice the garlic in rounds. Peel the ginger and slice it into thin matchsticks. Trim and halve the chilli, slice into batons and then into tiny dice. Trim the spring onions, cut in half and slice on the slant, including all the green unless obviously tough. Chop the coriander. Twist the claws and legs off the main body of the crab. Crack the shell of claws and legs lightly without crushing the crabmeat but sufficiently to access the meat. Remove the body from the shell (see left for more details). Use a cleaver or heavy chef's knife to cut the body into 4 pieces. Heat a wok over a high heat. Add the oil, swirl it round the wok and when it is very hot and slightly smoking, toss in the garlic, ginger, chilli and spring onions and stir-fry for 20 seconds. Add the brown crabmeat, soy sauce, rice wine, sherry or white wine and chicken stock. Stir thoroughly, letting everything bubble together, and then add the crab pieces and coriander. Stir-fry over a high heat for about five minutes, letting all the pieces become coated in garlic, ginger, spring onion and the soy/brown meat/stock sauce. Turn onto a large, warmed platter and serve with finger bowls and paper napkins.

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