The Best Chilli Mud Crab in the Northern Territory

Cobourg Peninsula Chilli Mud Crab

How good do we have it in the Top End?! You can head out fishing, drop in a few pots en route and at the end of a good/miserable days fishing simply pull up the pots and come home with a quality feed for dinner. Everyone's happy. Catch a few 'muddies' and you've probably just paid for the fuel  too! With crabs currently retailing at almost $50 a kg as we speak!

Bump into a local fisherman anywhere in the Northern Territory, start talking mud crabs and recipes for cooking them and I bet the conversation will include ‘chilli mud crab’.

Everyone has a recipe and everyone’s is the best!

Well, here is our much loved chilli mud crab recipe. We cook it all the time for our guests at Cobourg Coastal Camp and there's never leftovers...

• 1kg raw mud crab
• 2 tbs peanut oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tbs ginger, finely chopped
• 2 fresh long red chillies, seeded and sliced
• 2 tbs hoisin sauce
• ½ cup (125mm) tomato sauce
• ¼ cup (60mm) sweet chilli sauce
• 1 tbs fish sauce
• ½ tsp sesame oil
• 4 spring onions sliced
• Fresh coriander sprigs to garnish

SERVES 4

1. Clean crabs removing all guts and gills. Segment crab body into 4. Crack claws.

2. Heat a wok over high heat, add the oil. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and stir fry for 1-2minutes.

3. Add the crab pieces and stir fry for about 8 minutes or until turned red. Stir in the hoisin, tomato, sweet chilli and fish sauces, the sesame oil and ¼ cup of water. Bring to boil then reduce heat and simmer, covered for 8 minutes or until the flesh is white throughout.

4. Sprinkle with spring onion and serve on a platter, garnish with coriander, serve with rice.

Enjoy!