Vietnamese Salt & Pepper Crab- “Cua Rang Muoi” Recipe
Salt and pepper crab (cua ran muoi) is one of the most visually appealing and popular dishes in Vietnam. It’s like finger licking good- the crab is first deep fried in a light flour batter then tossed with roasted salt and pepper, jalepenos and green scallions.
Usually whole crabs are used and in Vietnam smaller, softer crabs would be used so you can eat the entire body. Here, in Upstate NY, all I could find were larger/hard crab legs which is also delicious, you can chew and bite into the tasty shell and eat the flavorful and juicy crab meat inside!
INGREDIENTS
4 raw crabs cut into pieces (frozen and unthawed or 6 pieces whole crab legs cooked or raw)
1/2 cup tapioca starch or all-purpose flour
1 bunch of green onions-thinly cut on diagonal (green parts only)
4 garlic cloves minced
2 jalapeno; sliced thin on a diagonal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon granulated white sugar
Vegetable oil for deep frying
DIRECTIONS
1. In a small pan dry roast the salt and pepper until very fragrant and spicy smelling (about 2-3 minutes). Remove from burner let cool slightly and add sugar. Set aside.
2. In a medium size pot or deep cast iron, heat the oil on high til about 350 degrees F for deep frying.
3. Completely coat all pieces of crabs in tapioca starch (or all-purpose flour) and set aside.
4. Before deep frying tap off any excess flour and fry in batches until crab begins to float to top (about 8+ if raw, about 3-4 min if pre-cooked, do not overcook or meat will shrink and shrivel up).
5. Transfer crab from the oil to paper towel lined plate to remove excess oil.
6. Add 1-2 tbs oil to large wok or pan and set heat to medium high.
7. Add green onions, garlic, jalapeno, and salt and pepper mixture and stir for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
9. Put crab in large metal bowl and add green onion/spice mixture (use about half the mixture of the salt/pepper/sugar) and toss until crab is coated in mixture.
10. Transfer to serving dish, sprinkle some of the left over salt/pepper mixture on top of crab and serve hot.