Crab legs with oyster sauce in a wok
1 serving
15 minutes
The most delicate fibers from the first phalanx of the Kamchatka crab's legs require minimal heat treatment. Therefore, the wok, in which everything unfolds so quickly that you only have time to dodge the steam, keeps them juicy. And with a thick Asian sauce, the crab turns into a hearty meal.
1
Thaw the Kamchatka crab claws. You don't need special scissors to cut the shell; regular scissors will do. Extract the meat by hand and let it sit for about ten minutes to drain excess water. If you're dealing with pre-cleaned crab, it also needs to be thawed and excess moisture removed.
- Crab phalanges: 150 g
2
Dissolve half a teaspoon of starch in a third of a glass of water - it must be cold, otherwise the starch won't fully dissolve. If you use a bit more liquid, the sauce will be thinner - it's all a matter of taste. Stir the starch very thoroughly to avoid lumps.
- Starch: 0.5 teaspoon
3
Finely chop the garlic and slice the onion thinly. Pour a couple of tablespoons of oil into the wok and set the pan on high heat. Asian tradition requires the oil to smoke before cooking begins. Once black smoke appears, add the garlic and onion to the wok.
- Garlic: 0.5 clove
- Red onion: 0.3 head
4
Fry the onion and garlic, stirring, for about fifteen to twenty seconds — just a short time, the onion slices should remain crispy. Then add the crab meat to the wok and cook it for about half a minute, gently turning the claws from side to side.
5
Pour the crab with soy and oyster sauces, and mix lightly. Then pour a cup of hot chicken broth into the wok. It will take about thirty seconds for the crab meat to absorb the flavors of the broth and sauces.
- Soy sauce for seafood: 1 tablespoon
- Oyster sauce: 0.5 teaspoon
- Chicken broth: 1.5 glass
6
Add a spoonful of sugar to the wok and stir it into the broth. Gradually add two tablespoons of starch solution. Pour it into the boiling liquid very carefully, in small portions, while constantly stirring to thicken the sauce evenly. Keep the wok on the heat for another half a minute.
- Sugar: pinch
- Starch: 0.5 teaspoon
7
Now it's time to taste the resulting sauce. If it seems too salty, overly concentrated, and sharp, it can be diluted with the remaining chicken broth. Once you achieve the perfect taste of the sauce, use a slotted spoon to remove the crab and place it on a plate.
8
Thicken the remaining sauce with a starch solution: in Asia, it is customary to bring it to the consistency of liquid jelly, but Europeans often prefer a more diet-friendly version. Drizzle the sauce over crab claws, season with pepper to taste, and garnish the dish with a lime wedge.
- Lime: 0.3 piece
- Ground black pepper: to taste