Matt Preston's Chilli crab
It’s the fresh seafood cuisines you’ve been craving as the days grow longer and nights get warmer. Learn the simple and easy to follow recipe right here. A credit to Matt Preston and the team at Delicious.com.
Ingredients
• 2 mud crabs
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup (80ml) tomato sauce (ketchup) 2 tbsp chilli sauce
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 cup (250ml) fish stock
• 1 egg, lightly whisked
• 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
• Sliced cheap white bread, crusts removed, to serve
Chilli Paste
• 6 red shallots, peeled and chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 4 long red chillies, seeded and chopped 5cm knob ginger, finely grated
• 2 tsp yellow soybean paste or miso
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
Steps
1. To make the chilli paste, place the shallot, garlic, chilli, ginger and soy bean or miso paste in a small food processor and blitz until finely chopped. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the oil in a thin stream to form a smooth paste. Season with salt.
2. Prepare the crab. Lift up the flap under the crab’s body with your thumb and remove. While holding the body firmly with the one hand, pull the top part of the shell off the body. Remove and discard the spongy, finger-like white gills on either side of the crab’s body. Cut the body into quarters using a heavy knife or cleaver.
3. Heat the oil in a large wok or frying pan over high heat until just smoking. Add the chilli paste and cook for 5 minutes or until well cooked and aromatic. Add the tomato sauce, chilli sauce and sugar and cook for 2-3 minutes or until it thickens slightly. Add the stock and bring back to the boil. Add the crab and toss to coat in the sauce. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes or until the crab is cooked and changes colour to bright red. Remove from the heat.
4. Use tongs to transfer the crab to a large serving bowl. Quickly add the egg to the chilli mixture, whisking continuously so the egg doesn’t scramble, and cook for 1 minute or until the sauce thickens slightly.
5. Pour the sauce over the crab. Sprinkle with the spring onion and serve with white bread.
Pavlova
Is it really Christmas time without the delicious taste of Pavlova? Let’s find out how to wow our families this Christmas with the best recipe for a mouth-watering Pavlova.
Ingredients
• 8 egg whites
• 3/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 2 cups (440g) caster sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp cornflour
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• Chopped Turkish delight, edible dried rose petals (from gourmet food shops) & chopped pistachios, to serve
Rosewater Cream
• 600ml thickened cream
• 1 cup (120g) pure icing sugar 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbs rosewater
• 125g punnet raspberries
Rosé Syrup
• 3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar
• 3/4 cup (185ml) rosé
• 1 tbs rosewater, or to taste
• Pink food colouring (optional)
Rasberry Sherbet
• 100g pure icing sugar, sifted
• 40g cornflour, sifted
• 2 tsp citric acid, sifted
• 1/2 tsp bicarb soda, sifted
• 50g freeze dried raspberries, crumbled
Steps
1. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Grease 2 baking trays. Draw a 15cm-diameter circle on 2 sheets of baking paper, flip so the outline is on the underside. Use line baking trays.
2. To make the pavlova, place egg whites and cream of tartar in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whisk to so peaks. With the motor running, add 1 tbs sugar every 30 seconds and continue whisking until well incorporated. Whisk for a further 8-10 minutes until the mixture is thick and glossy and sugar has dissolved.
3. Add the cornflour and whisk until combined, then whisk in the white vinegar. Divide meringue evenly between the 2 prepared trays. Using a palette knife, smooth the sides and the top of the pavlova, using the drawn circles as a guide. Place pavlovas in the oven.
4. Reduce oven temperature to 100°C.
5. Bake pavlovas for 2 hours, swapping trays around halfway through the cooking time. Turn off the oven and let cool in the oven for at least for 4 hours or overnight until cooled completely.
6. For the rosewater cream, whisk cream, icing sugar and vanilla to soft peaks. Add rosewater and whisk to stiff peaks, then divide into 2 portions. Using a spatula fold raspberries through 1 portion.
7. Meanwhile, for the rosé syrup, place sugar and rosé in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and stir to dissolve sugar. Bring to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes until slightly reduced. Cool, then stir in rosewater to taste. Allow to completely cool then add a few drops of pink food colouring, if using.
8. Just before serving, make the sherbet. Combine ingredients in a bowl and keep in an airtight container until ready to serve.
9. To assemble, place 1 pavlova on a serving platter. Top with raspberry cream and sandwich with second pavlova. Top with remaining vanilla cream, and scatter with Turkish delight, rose petals and pistachio. Drizzle with syrup and serve with the sherbet.
We credit this recipe to Delicious.com
