Kampot Pepper Crab

Ingredients

Crab

• 2 kglive blue swimmer crabs

Wok

• 6 tbspfresh green Kampot peppercorns, on the stem
• 1 headgarlic, sliced
• 3 tbspoil
• 2 tbspoyster sauce
• 1 tbspfish sauce
• 1 tbspsoy sauce
• 1 tspsugar
• 100 mlchicken stock
• 2spring onions

To serve

• lime
• salt and black pepper dip
• rice

Directions

1. Use fresh green peppercorns still on the stem, not dried black ones.
2. Fresh green Kampot pepper is the entire dish. It is juicy, bright and citrussy with only mild heat, and dried pepper gives you a hot crab rather than this one.
3. Kill the crabs quickly by chilling them in the freezer for 20 minutes first, which sedates them.
4. Clean them, remove the gills and the apron, and cut each body in half or into quarters.
5. Crack the claws with the back of a heavy knife.
6. Crack the claws before cooking. It lets the sauce inside and it saves the table a fight later.
7. Heat the wok until it smokes, then add the oil.
8. Fry the garlic for 20 seconds only, until it just turns pale gold.
9. Add the crab pieces and stir-fry hard for 4 to 5 minutes, until the shells turn bright orange.
10. Add the peppercorns, stems and all, and toss them through.
11. Add the oyster sauce, fish sauce, soy, sugar and stock, and cover the wok for 3 to 4 minutes.
12. Covering it steams the crab through while the sauce reduces, which a dry stir-fry cannot manage with shells this thick.
13. Uncover, raise the heat, and toss until the sauce has reduced to a glaze clinging to the shells.
14. Do not reduce it to nothing. There should be enough sauce left in the bottom of the dish to spoon over rice, which is half the meal.
15. Scatter spring onion over and serve immediately with lime, a salt and pepper dip, and rice.
16. It is the speciality of Kep on the southern coast, eaten at the crab market with the pepper grown on the hills at Kampot a few kilometres inland.

Technique

• Kampot pepper holds a protected geographical indication, the first granted in Cambodia.
• The crabs at Kep are kept alive in baskets in the sea until they are ordered.
• Green peppercorns in brine are the usual substitute abroad and are noticeably milder.

Substitutions

• Green peppercorns in brine, rinsed well.
• Mud crab or any hard-shell crab.

Variations

• With squid or prawns instead of crab.
• With more stock, served as a wetter dish over rice.
• With sliced fresh chilli added for heat.

History

A Kep coast dish using fresh green peppercorns; Kampot pepper received European protected geographical indication status in 2016.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kampot Pepper Crab?

Kampot Pepper Crab is a main from Cambodia: kep specialty: crab wok-tossed with fresh green Kampot peppercorns. A Kep coast dish using fresh green peppercorns; Kampot pepper received European protected geographical indication status in 2016.

How long does Kampot Pepper Crab take to make?

Kampot Pepper Crab takes 20 min of preparation and 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Kampot Pepper Crab?

Yes, within limits. Green peppercorns in brine, rinsed well. Mud crab or any hard-shell crab.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kampot Pepper Crab?

Fresh green Kampot pepper is the entire dish. It is juicy, bright and citrussy with only mild heat, and dried pepper gives you a hot crab rather than this one.