Ingredients

• 4 male blue swimmer crabs, uncooked
• 200g vermicelli noodles
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil

• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• ¼ cup black peppercorns
• ¼ cup white peppercorns
• 3cm ginger, peeled
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 long red chilli, chopped
• 1 bunch Vietnamese mint
• 40g butter
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons kecap manis
• ¼ cup oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce (nam pluc)
• 2eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 bunch spring onions, sliced

• 3cm piece ginger, peeled and chopped
• 1 stalk lemongrass, white only, chopped
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 1 bunch bok choy, washed and chopped
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 4 lime cheeks, to serve
• 1 bunch Thai basil, to serve
• 1 bunch coriander, to serve

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Method

1. Chop each crab in half. Remove back shells, wash shell and crab and remove gills or ‘dead man’s fingers’. Chop each crab half in half again. Reserve in fridge until required.

2. Cover vermicelli in boiling water for 5-10 minutes until tender. Drain, dress with a little sesame oil and place on serving dish.

3. Pound peppercorns until coarse, remove from mortar then pound ginger, garlic and chilli to a paste, add Vietnamese mint towards the end.

4. In a large wok, heat oil until hot but not smoking. Stir-fry crab in batches for 4-5 minutes until they turn red, set aside.

5. Reduce heat, add butter and as soon as it starts to sizzle add pounded paste with soy, kecap manis, oyster sauce and fish sauce, return crab to wok and toss to coat, stir in eggs and spring onions and cook until just set.

6. For bok choy, pound ginger and lemongrass, add oil to cleaned wok or a large frying pan add ginger and lemongrass and cook until sizzling. Add bok choy and soy and toss until bok choy is cooked to your liking.

7. Serve bok choy on top of vermicelli, top bok choy with crab. Serve with fresh herbs and lime.