Mud crab Fried Rice

Mud crabs have to be one of the most luxurious and delicious seafoods on the planet. These beefy, olive-shelled crabs can be found in mangrove estuaries all the way from NSW up to Far North Queensland and across to Western Australia!

The price per kilo is extravagant—for good reason! The meat in these beauties is sweet, delicate and has the most unreal flavour. They’re well in the running for my favourite seafood of all time.

Growing up in Far North Queensland, it was rare to pass a weekend that we didn’t have the crab pots in.
After catching a few, a typical dinner for us was to boil up the muddies and sit around the table, picking the meat and eating it on white bread with fresh lemon and mayo. As far as I’m concerned, this is still the best way to eat them—however, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to understand the beauty of these crabs and their versatility in cooking.

This recipe is a quick little crab fried rice that’s full of flavour, but still lets the delicate crab show off.
Not only this, but it’s cheap as chips and only takes a few minutes to make!

Here’s what you’ll need:
1 big mud crab (optionally, replace this with a handful of prawns or other seafood of your choice!)
1 packet of pre-cooked brown rice
1 chilli, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 knob of ginger, minced
3 spring onions, finely chopped
200g snow peas, chopped
1/2 red onion, diced
2tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Oil (I use rice bran oil, but vegetable oil or any other oil with a high smoke point is fine)

For the sauce:
1tbsp miso paste
2tbsp mushroom soy sauce
1tbsp sesame oil
1tbsp gochujang chilli paste (or your personal preference)
3tbsp shao hsing wine

Method:
Begin by boiling your mud crab. For one crab, I usually boil it for 10-12 minutes in sea water, just enough to cover. Sea water is important—the salt will penetrate the meat as it cooks.
Once cooked, cool the crab and pick all of the meat from the shell.

Next, get your pan nice and hot! This is important as we want to impart wok hei (the breath of the wok, or the smokey, delicious flavour that comes from stir frying).

Add around 2 Tbsp of your chosen oil. Fry off the ginger, garlic, chilli, and onions. Once they’re starting to caramelise, add your rice.
Fry the rice for a good 4-5 minutes on high heat. You’ll want to hear the grains crackling and popping.
Next, add your snow peas, crab, sauce, and half the spring onion. Cook for another minute, periodically stirring.
Now this is super optional, but this is when I bust out a big fat blowtorch, just to give the grains some toastiness. Give it a good whack.
At this point, you’re done!

Plate up your rice, and top with heaps of spring onions and your toasted sesame seeds.
This would be a great time to throw on a heap of Thai basil too!
Enjoy hot!