Recipe: Cangrejo reventado (burst crab)
Serves 4
- 8 x 300g large crabs, cleaned
- 50ml vegetable oil
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 3tbs yellow chilli paste (see below)
- 50ml chicha de jora or white wine
- 50ml fish stock
- 2 sprigs coriander
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 1 spring onion, chopped
- 1tbs chopped parsley, to garnish
- Salt and pepper
- Preparation time: 20 minutes
- Cooking time: 16 minutes
Pound the crabs with a meat tenderiser until the shells are crushed but not completely destroyed.
Heat the oil in a pan, add the garlic and sauté over a low heat for 30 seconds until cooked. Add the chilli paste and cook, stirring, for another two or three minutes until fragrant.
Add the chicha de jora or white wine, fish stock, crabs and coriander sprigs and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook over a low heat for 12 minutes until the crabs are cooked.
Remove the crabs from the pan and scoop out the meat from the shells using a fork. Set the shells aside.
Stir the beaten eggs into the pan along with the chopped spring onion. Return the crab meat to the pan and mix together well.
Put the crab shells in large shallow bowls, add the crab and egg mixture and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve immediately.
Pasta de aji amarillo (yellow chilli paste)
Makes around 400g
- 1kg yellow chillies, seeded, membrane removed, and cut into pieces
- 1tbs vegetable oil
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 8-10 minutes
Place the chillies in a pan with enough cold water to cover and bring to a boil, then remove from the heat and drain. Repeat the process three times, changing the water each time.
Put the blanched chillies in a blender with the vegetable oil and a tablespoon of water, and blend for about five minutes to form a thick paste. Once the mixture is well blended, push it through a sieve.
This chilli paste is best used immediately, though it will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for two days. It can be used to prepare dressings and stews.
Recipe taken from Peru: The Cookbook by GastÁ³n Acurio
