Black pepper crab

Instructions

1. Place your crab in the freezer for 30 minutes before breaking it down.
   
2. To break down the crab, make an 8 cm incision with a heavy knife on the underside right in the middle of the body. Pull half the body and legs inwards to release from the carapace. Repeat with the other half. Remove the gills (dead man's fingers) and also remove the stomach sack inside the carapace (head). Drain any excess liquid. Remove the claws from the body gently and crack the claws and arms with the back of the heavy knife. Cut the body/legs in half and set aside.
   
3. In a mortar and pestle, ground black peppercorns. Once they have broken down, add the coriander root, garlic and ginger, and pound to form a rough paste.
   
4. Add butter to a wok set over high heat. Add the paste with the finely ground black pepper and cook for 30 seconds before adding the chicken stock. Bring the stock up to the boil, and season with salt, sugar and oyster sauce. Add the crab, reduce the heat to medium and cook, with the lid on, for 6-8 minutes, or until the crab is cooked through.
   
5. Remove the crab and set aside. Bring the sauce back up to a boil. Add the green onion. Slowly add the potato starch water slurry to the sauce, a little at a time – and wait for the sauce to come back up to the boil before adding more to better determine the thickness of the sauce. You’ll want the sauce to be the consistency of a thin gravy.
   
6. Return the crab to the sauce, and stir to coat. Remove from the heat and add Chinese cooking wine and sesame oil. Serve warm, topped with fresh coriander leaves and sliced spring onion.