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Tamarind crab is a familiar dish, but cooking it to achieve the perfect flavor with a thick sauce, a balanced sweet and sour taste, and firm, sweet crab meat is not easy.

How to choose crabs:

According to chefs' experience, Ca Mau crabs weighing from 350 to 500 grams each are the ideal choice for tamarind crab. When buying, home cooks should prioritize crabs with shiny shells, strong claws, a hard apron, and a heavy feel – signs that the crab is firm and meaty.

Tamarind crab is a dish loved by many people. (Photo: B.L)

Preparing the ingredients

To cook for 2 - 3 people, you need: 3 live crabs weighing about 1 kg, 50g squeezed tamarind pulp or 3 - 4 tablespoons of tamarind sauce, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 1.5 tablespoons of fish sauce, minced garlic, minced shallots, minced chili, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch.

In addition, you should also prepare some Vietnamese coriander, green onions, cooking oil, and roasted peanuts.

Preparing the crab

Clean the crabs, remove the apron, and keep the roe inside the shell. To allow the dish to absorb flavors and prevent the crab from breaking when stir-frying, the preparer usually separates the crabs into 2-3 pieces, lightly crushes the claws, and marinates them with salt, pepper, and fish sauce for about 10 minutes.

Making Tamarind Sauce

Tamarind is mixed with warm water and the seeds are removed. This mixture is then cooked with sautéed garlic and shallots, and seasoned according to the ratio commonly used by chefs: 1 tamarind, 3 sugar, and 1.5 fish sauce.

Next, add a little diluted cornstarch and fresh chili to the sauce to thicken it. A properly seasoned sauce should have an attractive reddish-brown color, a characteristic mild sourness from the tamarind, a sweet aftertaste, and a hint of chili heat.

Tamarind crab has a delightfully sweet and sour taste. (Photo: B.L)

How to Make Tamarind Fried Crab

After marinating, the crab is quickly fried in hot oil for 2 - 3 minutes. The purpose is to firm up the meat, retain its natural sweetness, and reduce the fishy smell when simmered with the sauce. This is a technique used by many high-end restaurants.

The lightly fried crab is then added to a pan of gently boiling sauce and simmered over medium heat for 8 - 10 minutes. Crab roe is added afterwards to make the sauce richer and more aromatic. When the sauce becomes thick and clings evenly to each piece of crab, the dish is ready.

Before turning off the heat, sprinkle chopped green onions, Vietnamese coriander, and roasted peanuts on top to enhance the flavor.

Tamarind fried crab is best served hot, accompanied by bread to make the most of the sweet, sour, and slightly creamy sauce. This dish is perfect for a weekend family gathering or for entertaining friends.