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CHEF'S CORNER

Grab the crab

Shivneet Pohoja is the Sous Chef at The ITC Maurya. His forte is simplicity with a twist

When people use too many ingredients it’s because they’re trying to camouflage their skills or the quality of their ingredients. In this mud crab claw dish, the ingredients are of the highest quality and the preparation is simple.

The black pepper sauce is freshly ground and crushed. I picked the dish from Singapore. It’s a fine-dine preparation.

But it’s not complicated. The texture is great. I like that it has few ingredients and is easy to make.

It really is high on taste. Seafood in Delhi is generally not that fresh. But crab is brought live so it’s one seafood that is completely fresh.

Photos: V.V. Krishnan

Simple as this The chef’s mud crab claw at the ITC Maurya

200 gms butter

160 gms garlic (chopped fine)

100 gms black pepper corn

40 gms light soy sauce

40 gms Worcester sauce

50 gms flour

1 lit water

Whisk the flour in approx 200ml water to make a smooth slurry and keep aside. Toast the peppercorn in an oven or a pan and crush coarsely using a rolling pin. In a pan, melt the butter and add in the garlic, crushed peppercorn and sauté on medium heat for one minute. Add in the water, light soy sauce and Worcester sauce and bring to a boil. Once the sauce has come to boil add in the flour slurry while continuously whisking the sauce in order to prevent lumps. Cook for few seconds till the sauce has thickened, remove from flame. This sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for future use.

150 gms each 4 fresh crab claw

100 gms corn starch

Oil to fry

Boil some water in a pan and dunk in the crab claws for 30 seconds. Remove from water and place in iced water. Use a mallet to crack the shell of the claws, taking care not to damage the flesh. Using a clean cloth to protect your hand, remove all the shells from the claws leaving only one pincer on. Wash and clean the shelled claws, dab dry with a paper towel. Heat oil in a wok, dredge the crab claws with some cornstarch and crisp fry in medium hot oil for three to four minutes. In the time it takes for the claws to fry, in another wok heat around 250 gms of black pepper sauce. Remove the crab claws from the hot oil, drain on a paper towel to remove excess oil, drop into the sauce and stir-fry on high heat till the sauce starts to coat the crab claw.

Serve hot.

(Shivneet Pohoja spoke to Nandini Nair. He can be reached at Shivneet.Pohoja@itcwelcomgroup.in)

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