Creamy butter crab is a delicious seafood dish that has become very popular in Malaysia. Cili padi and curry leaves lend an exotic, spicy flavour to butter and evaporated milk, in a rich sauce that complements the silky flesh of cooked crab.
The dish is best enjoyed with fried Chinese buns or mantou, so everyone will have a great time sopping up the creamy sauce.
Ingredients
- 1kg mud crab, dungeness crab or stone crab
- 1 1/2 cup evaporated milk
- 1 stick (100g) butter
- 1 teaspoon sugar or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 stalks curry leaves
- 5 cili padi, lightly pounded
- 10 Chinese buns or mantou
Method
- Clean the crab and cut into pieces. Pat dry using paper towels.
- Deep-fry the Chinese buns until golden brown and set aside on paper towels to soak up excess oil.
- Mix the cornstarch with water and set aside.
- Heat up a wok to medium heat. Melt the butter and add the curry leaves and cili padi. Stir-fry until fragrant.
- Add the crab and stir continuously until the shells start to change colour.
- Add the evaporated milk, cover the wok and turn the heat to low.
- Simmer for about five minutes, then add cornstarch to thicken the creamy butter sauce.
- Serve piping hot with the fried mantou.
This recipe can be found in Rasa Malaysia.
Low Bee Yinn is a food blogger and cookbook author.