Fridays in the Ho Clan only means one thing – Seafood day ! (: After all the poultry and red meat we have for the rest of the week, we abstain from them on Fridays and have seafood instead. Most of the time, I would make either fish or prawns (or both). But once in a while, I would do the occasional splurge and treat ourselves to something different. This time, it’s crab!
The Mr and I went to Springvale to scout for a mud crab. Thankfully, they sold live ones! But being the noob us, we didn’t really know how to pick! haha So we asked the store owner, and she kindly chose one for us. The Mr was a little disappointed that all the mud crabs were female, as he was really looking forward to having some crab roe! Maybe next time! hehe
Of course, the first thing we did when we got home was to pop the crab into the freezer so that it would fall into a deep sleep so that we could clean it out the humane manner. I didn’t dare do it, so the Mr had to help me with the killing and cleaning. hehe Thank goodness he was home! (:
I have been craving for some crab bee hoon (thick rice vermicelli) soup for the longest time! I remember the first time I’ve had it was at Mellben Seafood in Singapore. They, in my opinion, has the best crab bee hoon soup I’ve ever tasted! Being the instagram stalker that I am, I saw one of my friend’s post of their crab bee hoon soup and I couldn’t resist the temptation of trying it out on my own! hehe
The broth was so full of flavour with the subtle milkiness of the evaporated milk. Definitely satisfied my cravings! heh I have to say, it was surprisingly easy, besides the cleaning of the crabs! You could get it on the dining table within 30 minutes after everything is prepared. How good is that? As close to instant gratification as I can get! hehe
So do give this a go. Especially if you’re craving for something comforting for this cold winter nights we are having now! You’ll have warm, toasty and happy bellies for sure!
Crab Bee Hoon (Thick Rice Vermicelli) Soup (adapted from Rasa Malaysia)
1 kg mud crab, cleaned and cut into pieces
2oog dried thick vermicelli noodles
4 tbs unsalted butter
6-10 slices of peeled ginger
3 cups fish stock
1/2 cup evaporated milk
3 bunches of baby bok choy
1-2 stalks of spring onion, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 tbs shaoxing wine
1/2 tbs fish sauce, or according to taste
white pepper, for seasoning
fried shallots, garnish
Steps :
1) Cook the dried thick vermicelli noodles according to the package till al dente. Drain the noodles in a colander and rinse them under cold water to remove the starch. Drain and set aside.
2) In a claypot or heavy-based pot, add the butter and allow it to melt. Add the sliced ginger and fry till fragrant.
3) Add the stock and bring it to a boil.
4) Then add the evaporated milk followed by the crab.
5) Cook for a few minutes until the crab turns red and is cooked. Add the baby boy choy, shaoxing wine, spring onion and season with fish sauce and ground white pepper. Bring to a boil, and add the rice noodles. Allow it to boil for a few minutes, garnish with fried shallots and serve!
ENJOY!
My favourite part of the crab is definitely the pincers. It’s just full of sweet flesh and after I was done with mine, I just wanted more! So dear readers, which is your favourite part of the crab? heh Would love to know and how do you like to have your crabs too! hehe
Hope you all had a lovely week and not long till the weekend! So hang in there! Remember to always cook and bake with love! xx
Food Made With Love 
absolutely stunning! hehe I might try make it next time or make a crab porridge 😀 Yum!!!!
Crab porridge sounds amazing!! hehe I am sure you will like this!! hehe Not overly heavy as well! hehe let me know what u think after you’ve tried it! hehe xx
chilli crab has to be *the* best way to eat them haha. could you please add some pictures of how to clean/chop/prepare the crab? thanks!
I love chilli crab too! and salted egg yolk crab! SLURPS! haha
I didn’t take photos of the steps to clean it! If I do make another crab dish I will definitely show that! (:
It looks super awesome! Love Melben crab bee hoon too haha. I think for me, its definitely the crab head and the roe 🙂
hehe thanks babe! (: Lester loves the head and roe too! hehe
Well done babe it looks sooooo damn good! Just like the one I had in Singapore!! Would love to have some right now it’s super comforting to have crab, soup and noodles ~ too bad I’m too scared to touch a live crab hehe xox
hehe have Ricky do the killing and cleaning so u don’t have to touch! hehe that’s what I did! Made Lester do all the cleaning of the crab cause I was too scared! hehe
So glad you think it looks similar to the one in Singapore! hehe xx
Looks so yummy!!! Is the broth similar to that of fish head noodles? 🙂 I’d love to give this recipe a go but I’ve got a noob question – how did you prepare your fish broth? 😐
hehe it is pretty similar!! hehe
For the fish broth – I buy some fish bones (any that you can find, preferably not salmon, cause the taste can be quite strong, I use snapper!), pan fry the bones till they are brown, ginger, carrot, onion, garlic. Then add water and let it simmer for an hour or more! And you have a beautiful fish broth! hehe
Hope that helps babe! Give it a try and let me know what you think! If you think it’s too troublesome to make your own broth, just get the campbell fish stock from Woolies or Coles! Works as well! xx
Wow that looks fantastic. I love how you guys are so adventurous with your cooking! I must confess I have never cooked crab before in my life!!!
Thanks lovely! hehe to be honest, this was my first try with crab!! hehe There’s always a first time for everything yes? hehe xx
I’m freezing and that crab looks so nice and warm in the pot there 😛 bahaha! I don’t think I’m brave enough to tackle live crabs yet! looks great x
hehe I am definitely no where near brave! haha Lester had to do it!! hehe With weather like that, anything soupy would be awesome!! (: x
that looks really good! i normally get my brother to kill and chop up for me before i tend to it!
Thanks babe! hehe thank goodness we have the man to do the tough job for us! hehe xx
So brave! I’m too scared to cook with live crab 😛 I’ll eat it though!
hehe I’m definitely not the brave one! hehe the mr is! I’m sure Zeboy would kill it for u too! hehe We shoud have a crab partaeeee! haha xx
Hi! May I know how to get fish stock? Thank you!
You can get it in the stock aisle of the supermarket? I think must get from the gourmet type of supermarket! Or you can boil fish bones with ginger, onion, leeks and garlic, strain then you’ll have homemade fish stock! (:
Thank you so much! I’m a newbie cook and your recipe is really easy to follow for newbies like me! Thank you for sharing 🙂
you’re most welcome! (: So glad that you enjoy them! Let me know how you go! x
Hi, I’m a Muslim and I really want to try this recipe but I am wondering whether I can replace the wine with something else?
you can just leave it out! (: will still be very tasty!
Hey! Nice way to cook it. I’m a crab lover and was looking to different ways to make it. I’m brazilian and for sure you’ll like the way we make it and its so easy. Onions, garlic, lots of tomato, bell pepper, coriander, salt and pepper. Just make a thick tomato sauce and then put the crabs. Wait for a few minutes and its done! 🙂
That sounds absolutely delicious! (: Shall give it a try when I can get hold of some fresh crabs!!