Buka Puasa dishes

Today is my second day of full fasting in Malaysia. It is pretty hot outside and I feel thirsty. On the first day I had only opted for buying my buka puasa dishes in the Ramadhan Bazaar near the mosque. That place was packed with food shopper and there are lots of food and drink up for sales. My friend and I bought some nasi kerabu (you know, that light blue rice with lots of mixed salads) and nasi tomato. I also bought lots of popiah for my snacking time late at night. Yummie… Don’t mention about the parking, it’s terrible.

Today I’m thinking of cooking a hot and spicy crab dish for the breaking fast. Since I’ve got nothing in my fridge, I have to buy all the fresh ingredients from the market or maybe from Tesco. They have some nice crabs in the seafood sections and the price is quite reasonable today. I only need 4-5 crabs for the two of us. I need some curry leave, lemongrass, shallots, garlic, ginger, chili and lime. I’ll make the chili paste at home with some dried chilies later.

Here is the recipe for you to try out. Since I’m more towards adventure cooking, I don’t really weigh my ingredients. I go by instinct and smell (and taste if it is not during Ramadhan). Cooking is an art so don’t be afraid. You can always modify it to suit your taste.


Ingredients:

4-5 crabs (medium size would do)

About 2 tbsp of corn flour combined with ½ tsp pepper

Enough oil for deep frying the crabs
4 tbsp butter
Some curry leaves (optional)
2 stalks of lemongrass (bruise or smash them to release the flavor)

Ground 4 shallots, 2 cloves of garlic, about 2 cm ginger and 2 tbsp chili paste (you can blend 2 fresh chilies with few dried chilies that have been soaked in water for this)

For the sauce ingredient, combine about 7 tbsp of tomato sauce, 5 tbsp chili sauce,2 tbsp oyster sauce, 3 tbsp of lime juice, 1-2 tbsp sugar to taste and 4-5 tbsp water.

How to cook:

Cut the crabs into halves, Remove and crack the pincers. Clean and wipe dry the crabs and toss them in the flour mixture that has been prepared earlier.

Heat enough oil in a wok and deep fry the crabs until fragrant. Dish out and drain the oil.

In a separate pan, heats the butter until it melts and adds the curry leaves (if using), lemongrass and all the ground ingredients. Fry until it become fragrant.

Put in the combine sauce ingredients and crabs. Stir fry until the crabs are fully coated with the sauce. Close the pan with a cover and cook for 2-3 minutes until the crabs are fully cook and the sauce thicken. Serve hot with some chopped parsley or coriander leaves.


So, now I have a nice crab dish and a plate of rice and I’m waiting for the breaking fast time . It smells so nice and my stomach is growling. For those who try this recipe let me know whether you like it or not. Most of the time you need to slightly modify it to suite your taste. As I said, cooking is an art and a little personal touch goes a long way.

There goes the Adzan now and it is time for the break fast. Bon Appetit!