I always say that I love you guys. And I do. Believe me, I do. But with age comes wisdom and through countless disappointments and heartbreaks, I’ve come to learn that actions, they speak a lot louder than words. Am I right or am I right? And because I would never dream to dent, let alone break any of your little hearts, I wanted to show you guys just how much I love y’all, so look what I’ve gone and done! I’ve pried away from my dad one of his prized crab recipes – mud crab noodles with ginger & shallots – and am sharing it here, right here for you.

Ok so actually cooking it for you guys would be the ultimate in love stories but hold yer horses there, I haven’t even cooked this for Panu yet!

Anyway, most people are more familiar with lobster noodles but this is the same thing except here in the catty household, We Is Crab Peoples. But you can totally do the same recipe with lobster if that’s what’s hankering at your taste buds.

So. Without much further ado, let’s get into it. I’ve got some photos here to help us all along, but down the bottom of this post you’ll find the recipe in steps. Happy cooking!

Firstly you need to prepare the mud crabs. Oh wait, if you have a live crab, the most humane way to kill it is to wrap it up in newspaper and freeze the little guy. There are some far more awful ways to de-life a crab, but I won’t go into that. Once frozen, just submerge in a pot of tap water for a couple of hours to defrost.

Now, I have to admit, I had all the intention of actually photographing my dad preparing the crabs but then he went all up and did it while I was napping, didn’t he? Totally not my fault that I was napping. But anyway. Remove the crab’s shell – the easiest way is to start from the belly of the crab. Start from the triangular tip on its belly, lift that towards the back of the crab and literally peel it all the way around until the shell comes off as well.

The shell is full ofΒ hepatopancreas (otherwise known as “mayonnaise” or “mustard”). This is good stuff and disturbingly, many people discard this thinking it’s the crab’s poop but please. DON’T. This is what gives any crab dish its flavour so put the hepatopancreas aside in a small bowl.

The only part of the crab that is inedible are its gills. Get rid of them. Wash the crab clean and chop it into manageable bits. My dad usually cuts the body in half down the middle, and each half into half again. He also separates the claw and gives it a little smash so that it’s easier to peel once cooked. You can smash it using a nut cracker, or if you’re my dad, a cleaver. Hellz yeah.

The crab is now ready! Refrigerate!

Then prepare the garlic, ginger and shallots. These are easy. Mix the sauce too. No pics of that, it wasn’t so pretty

You also need to have the right noodles for this dish. I mean, it’s not the end of the world if you use just regular egg noodles, but most restaurants will use this lighter version of egg noodle “yee mien“. This is what we used:

Don’t worry about the noodles for now. They take literally two minutes to prepare so leave them til last. So, let’s start cooking!

Ok, first heat up the oil in a wok or saucepan and brown the garlic. When it’s brown, add the hepatopancreas and stir for about 2-3 minutes. Then add the ginger and stir for another minute or so.

Add the crab and stir until the crab is cooked. You can tell it’s cooked when the shell turns a bright red. If it helps, cover the wok with a lid to quicken the process but it shouldn’t take any longer than five minutes.

Once the crab is cooked, add the sauce. It’s nice to have some gravy with the noodles, so my dad adds about 150mL of water. Check the consistency yourself and if it’s too runny, add corn flour/starch. If you want more sauce, add water.

Not really rocket science, even I can do it.

Once the sauce comes to boil, add the shallots. You don’t have to cook the shallots for long – they should be soft but not overcooked.

Now that the crab is ready, prepare the noodles by placing the dried noodles in a pot and stirring with boiling water for about a minute. Drain and rinse with cold water. Place the noodles in a large serving dish and top with the crab and….Β voilΓ !

Mud crab noodles with ginger and shallots:

This is love on so many different levels… *sigh*

Mud crab noodles with ginger & shallots
1 large or 2 small mud crab/s, about 1 kg in total, cleaned
180 grams yee mien or thin egg noodles
2.5 teaspoon corn flour
4 tablespoons ginger wine
2 teaspoon soya sauce
4 tablespoons olive oil
Fresh ginger, sliced thinly (my dad used a peeler)
1 whole garlic, diced
Shallots, chopped in 6cm portions
150mL water
Pinch of salt to taste
  1. To prepare the mud crabs, remove its shell, careful not to discard the hepatopancreas (or “mayonnaise” or “mustard”). Put the hepatopancreas aside in a small bowl.
  2. Remove the crab’s gills – this is the only inedible part of the crab. Wash with tap water and cut into manageable pieces. My dad also crushes the claws before cooking – this can be done before or after. Refrigerate until ready to cook.
  3. Prepare the sauce by mixing together the corn flour, ginger wine and soya sauce with 2 tablespoons of water. Set aside.
  4. To start cooking, heat the oil in a wok/saucepan. Add garlic and cook until slightly brown.
  5. Add the hepatopancreas and stir for about 2-3 minutes. Add the ginger and stir for another minute.
  6. Add the crab and stir until the crab is cooked. The shell will turn red when cooked.
  7. Once the crab is cooked, add the sauce. Add another 150mL of water, stir and bring to boil. If it’s too runny, add a tiny bit more corn flour. Add a punch of salt to taste.
  8. As the sauce comes to boil, throw in the shallots and stir for a couple of minutes until the shallots are soft but not overcooked.
  9. When the crab is ready, you can prepare the noodles as it only takes a couple of minutes.
  10. Put the dried noodles in a pot, add boiling water and stir gently for about 1 minute. When soft enough, drain and rinse with cold water. Place in a large serving dish.
  11. Dish the crab over the noodles and serve!
Serves 2-3 as a main course with no other dishes.

19 Thoughts on “recipe for mud crab noodles with ginger & shallots. YES I LOVE YOU THIS MUCH.

  1. This looks *so* good, Catty! Thanks for sharing. Hope you are recovering well. x

  2. I LOVE that crab mayo! You are a seriously rockin cook, lady. Everything you make I INSTANTLY crave!!!

  3. Good choice of noodle – yi mein is one of my faves, and is great for soaking up the gravy from this crab.

    Anyway back to the crab, what a great recipe! And for me, the hepatopancreas is the best bit. Rather weirdly, I didn’t know that was what it was called in English ’til this post – I only knew the Chinese name.

  4. I have to admit I’ve never ever cooked with crab before, but this recipe actually makes me want to go out, get a crab and get cooking!
    Thanks for very kindly providing it & spreading the love… πŸ˜‰
    Hope your recovery is going along well!

  5. Well done Catty! And you really must love us to share this with us huh! πŸ˜‰

  6. Niamh: Thank you! and yes I’m recovering well, on track to be back in London this weekend πŸ˜€

    sarah: haha I can’t take the credit I’m afraid.. my dad cooked this, he’s an awesome cook!

    Mr Noodles: I have no idea what the Chinese name is! I wanted to find out the English name though cos I refuse to call it mayonnaise or mustard!!

    Kay: Do it do it! It’s such a yummy dish πŸ™‚

    Lorraine: I LOVE you guys πŸ˜€ muchly!

  7. Charmaine on March 28, 2011 at 11:36 am said:

    Oh you funny Australians – do you call spring onions shallots? CONFUSED.
    My dad’s recipe is pretty much exactly the same as this, except he DEEP-FRIES the crab (dusted with cornflour) first to seal in all the juices. I’m not convinced the crab we get here in London is any good though.. eat more before you come back!

  8. Charmaine on March 28, 2011 at 11:37 am said:

    Another name for the hepatopancreas: crab miso πŸ˜€

  9. We love you too Catty! Well, we do after you gave us that recipe. Cupboard love – who us? πŸ˜‰ More recipes please, this is great.

  10. Mel C on March 28, 2011 at 3:30 pm said:

    Best home cooked crab EVER. confirmed and VERIFIED! πŸ™‚ drooling! Oh if only I could catch crabs, Cat. Come back soon and we’ll go try our hand at it xoxo

  11. Catty, that sounds amazing! I’ve never cooked crab before! There’s another dish you must make me when you’re back in Sydney (bookmarked) πŸ˜‰

  12. I love this dish, my parents use lobster and I often request this on special occasions! Delish!

  13. Charmaine: I totally agree – crab in London is probably not great and certainly not caught by my dad hehe πŸ™‚ crab miso? I never heard that one!

    The Grubworm: I’m sure I have a couple more parental recipes up my sleeve to be published soon πŸ˜‰

    Mel C: TOTALLY, we’ll go crabbing next time I’m back in summer! It’ll be fun πŸ˜€

    Maria: Never? I now have a little list of things to make for you!

    Minny: Yes – it’s the same as the lobster noodle recipe, so delicious, right?

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  15. Linh on April 4, 2011 at 3:38 pm said:

    Drool. Parental crab dishes are the best. Never tried making crab myself either since it’s always seemed a bit too hard – but you make it look easy(ish). Feeling a bit homesick for me own folks’ cooking. I also never knew the english word for the crab yellow bits (only in Vietnamese), but now I know why – hepatopancreasis a hard word! x

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  17. Tiffani A on December 19, 2011 at 8:20 pm said:

    I live in Bali and I literally just finished cooking this for my family. I did it on a bigger scale with 6 mud crabs and a dozen very large prawn and it is all gone. This is an amazingly easy recipe and completely delicious. Thank you so much for sharing.

    • BEST COMMENT EVER! Sooooo glad it worked out. I love when people let me know the recipes are good, and especially this one as it’s my dad’s special recipe. YAY!

  18. Big Ticket on May 13, 2012 at 10:14 am said:

    Very detailed…I nearly got a hard on after reading your recipe CATTY. What?

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