Soft Shell Crabs In Black Bean & Chili Sauce

Ingredients

240 ml oil for deep-frying
4 soft shell crabs
10 ml oil for stir frying
10 ml black beans in water
4 garlic
1 gr ginger root
2 chili peppers
1 scallion
65 gr green
7 ml chinese shaohsing wine
2 gr sugar
1 gr msg
10 ml soy sauce
60 ml chicken broth
3 gr cornstarch
240 ml oil in wok to deep-fry temp

Instructions

they turn orange. Drain crabs and discard oil. Clean and dry the Wok. 2. Heat the Wok over high heat. Swirl in 2 T oil. When oil is hot, add seasonings. Stir fry for about 30 seconds. Add bell pepper and stir fry for about 10 seconds. Stir in sauce mixture. Put cooked crabs back into Wok. Cover, turn heat to low, and cook until sauce comes to a boil. Stir in cornstaarch and water. Stir and cook until sauce is thickened. Put on a serving plate. Serve hot. NOTE: For a less pungent hot dish, use 1 T salted black beans and 1 dried chili pepper. When you buy soft shell crabs, be sure they are still alive. Usually they look quite dead, weak and limp. Touch their legs, eyes, or mouth. Even if they respond only slightly and slowly, they are still alive. Refrigerate them as soon as you get home. Cleaning them is quite simple. Clip off the eyes and mouth. Lift the top shell and remove the soft feather-like gills and discard them. Turn the crab bottom up. Tear off and discard the cartlidge. (the shape of the female's is half-oval, the male's is a narrow triangle).