Vietnamese Salt & Pepper Crab (Cua Rang Muoi Tieu)
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Vietnamese Salt & Pepper Crab (Cua Rang Muoi Tieu)
Looking for a crab recipe to take advantage of crab season? Look no further than Vietnamese Salt and Pepper Crab or Cua Rang Muối Tiêu. This dish has the perfect blend of sweet crab meat and the bold yet simple flavors of salt and pepper.
In this recipe, I’m working with whole live crabs and tackling the dismemberment myself.
How to Prepare Live Crab
Step 1. The most humane way to kill a crab is to place it in the freezer for 20 minutes, which will put it into a state of deep sleep. Afterward, remove the triangular flap on the underside of the crab, known as the apron. Use a sharp knife to quickly and firmly plunge it into the center of the crab’s body.
Step 2. Clean the crab with a brush and rinse thoroughly with cold running water. Firmly hold the bottom of the crab and the top of the shell. Gently pull the two apart.
Step 3. Remove the gills on both sides of the crab. Break off the two hard appendages at the crab’s mouth.
Step 4. Use a sharp knife to cut the body into two halves, making sure not to lose any of the yellow “crab butter.” Separate the legs, ensuring that each leg has crab body meat. You can keep the smaller legs together.
Step 5. Dip the meat ends of each crab leg into tapioca or cornstarch then shake off excess. If using the crab shell, drain all of the liquid without removing the crab “butter.” Then coat the inside of the shell with starch. The crab is now ready for deep frying.
Deep Frying & Stir Frying
It’s best to deep fry them first to keep the meat intact. Deep-frying also provides a thin crispy crust for a wonderful added texture. Once deep-fried, it’s now time to add the aromatics and spices in a large skillet.
Start by heating up a large wok or skillet with a bit of vegetable oil. Add your aromatics (shallots, onions, green onions, bell peppers, and/or garlic). Cook on high heat until the outside is blistered. Add your deep-fried crabs and then toss with a salt and pepper mixture.
Pan fry the aromatics with a little bit of oil until blistered then add the deep-fried crab legs.
Store-Bought Cooked Crabs
If the thought of dismembering live crabs is too intimidating, pre-cooked crabs are available at many supermarkets and can be used for this recipe. Skip the deep-frying step and go straight to the wok frying with the aromatics for a tasty, hassle-free meal.
MSG (Make Sh*t Good)
To make this dish even more irresistible and restaurant-quality, consider adding a dash of MSG, which correctly stands for Monosodium Glutamate. MSG adds an extra umami kick. It’s not required, but it makes a world of difference and really does make sh*t good.
Recipe below. Happy cooking!
Vietnamese Salt and Pepper Crab (Cua Rang Muối Tiêu)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Clean the crab thoroughly and rinse well. Pull apart the shell from the rest of the body, then separate the crab legs. Make sure to include crab meat at the end of each crab leg. Coat the meaty ends of each crab leg with starch, dust off excess, and set aside. If using the shell too, ensure all the crab "butter" stay within the shell and coat the tomalley in the shell with starch.
- In a small bowl, combine salt, ground black pepper, and MSG. Set aside.
- Fill a large wok with vegetable oil and heat to 350°F. If you don't have a thermometer, drop a pinch of starch in the oil. If it sizzles rapidly, then the oil is ready. Deep fry the crab legs, in batches, until they float to the top (about 4 minutes per batch). If using the shell, make sure to deep fry with shell facing up to keep the crab "butter" intact. Push it down into the oil, if needed.
- Transfer crab to a plate lined with paper towels or a wire rack to remove excess oil.
- Remove oil from the wok, leaving about 2 tablespoons. Toss in the white ends of green onions, garlic, yellow onion, jalapenos, and bell peppers. Stir fry on high heat until blistered (about 1 minute).
- Add in the deep-fried crab legs. Sprinkle the salt-pepper-MSG mixture over the crab and toss until combined (about 1 minute). Transfer to a serving platter and serve immediately for best results.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
203Fat
4 gSat. Fat
1 gCarbs
25 gFiber
1 gNet carbs
24 gSugar
1 gProtein
18 gSodium
524 mgCholesterol
58 mgThe values provided should be considered estimates. Factors such as brands purchased, natural variations in fresh ingredients, etc. will change the nutritional information in any recipe. To obtain accurate nutritional information for a recipe, use your preferred nutrition calculator to determine nutritional information with the actual ingredients and quantities used.
