Its hard to beat fresh Queensland muddies if you like your seafood full flavoured and succulent, and the variety of options when it comes to cooking and serving is seemingly endless.
Many prefer to simply throw them into a pot of boiling salt water (after humanely putting them to sleep in the freezer of course), then chill the cooked crabs in an ice slurry or overnight in the fridge, and serve them with fresh crusty bread spread with lashings of real butter, salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Others prefer to get stuck in while the muddies are still hot and steaming.
But a wok full of good chilli mudcrab is to die for! The rich, spicy, sweet flavours of the sauce seem to complement the crab so perfectly, and of course steamed rice soaks up the juices so well.
Warning: you really do need a pile of paper serviettes or napkins, or preferably roll up your sleeves and eat beside a pool and dive in whenever necessary...eating chilli mudcrab can be a messy experience!
Here's Sally Jenyns recipe for Stir Fried Mud Crab in Black Bean Sauce from the classic "Coastwatch Cookbook" published in 1997:
1 uncooked mudcrab
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 tablespoons black bean and garlic paste
2 tablespoons chopped ginger
1 sliced onion
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 tin tomato pieces
1/3 cup sweet sherry
3 to 4 baby bok choy, washed & halved
Clean mudcrab, cut each side into 3-4 sections, lightly crack shells.
Heat peanut oil in wok.
Add garlic, onion, ginger and garlic black bean paste. Stir fry for 1 minute.
Add crab, sweet sherry and tinned tomatoes with juice.
Mix well, then cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Toss crab, then place bok choy on top.
Replace lid, and simmer for a further 4 to 5 minutes.
Give all ingredients a final stir.
Serve crab and sauce over steamed rice.
Here's a link to Peter Kurivita's recipe for Steamed mud crabs with ginger, chilli, and shallot sauce:
http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/steamed-mud-crabs-ginger-chilli-and-shallot-sauce
Just a'walkin the crab.
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