Cua Rang Voi Sot Me (Crab with Tamarind Sauce)

Ingredients:

4 whole medium crabs
peanut oil for deep-frying
1 Tbsp. tamarind pulp
1/4 cup rice wine
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/4 cup chopped baby leeks or spring onions (white part only), cut in 1
3 Tbsp. Nam Plaa (fish sauce)
1 tsp. crushed white pepper

Instructions:

Clean the crabs, take off the tops, rinse thoroughly, cut in half and break the claws. Heat the peanut oil in a wok until very hot, then deep-fry the crabs for about 30 seconds, or until the color changes. Set the fried crabs on some paper towels to absorb any excess oil.

Dissolve the tamarind pulp in the rice wine, then in a large pan or wok, saute garlic in vegetable oil until soft. Add the fried crabs and continue cooking for an additional 2-3 minutes on a high heat. Add the tamarind mixture, fish sauce and pepper, then reduce for another 2 minutes, then add the baby leeks. Remove the mixture from the heat and place the crabs on a platter and pour the tamarind sauce over them. Serve the crabs in tamarind sauce with some steamed basmati rice and serve immediately.

Recipe from “The Food of Vietnam Authentic Recipes from the Heart of Indochina” by Trieu Thi Choi and Marcell Isaak, Periplus Editions, ISBN: 962-593-394-8.