Poo Cha or Poo Ja, Crab Cakes made with crab and pork, stuffed into the original crab shell.
Ingredients
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 coriander roots
- 1/2 tsp white peppercorns
- 60g crab meat (reserve shells)
- 100g minced pork
- 50g pork fat, diced
- 1 Tbsp corn flour
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp white sugar
- A pinch of salt
- 1 Tbsp fresh coriander, chopped finely
- 2 eggs
- 1 Tbsp rice flour
- 4 cups vegetable oil (for frying)
Directions
- In a stone mortar with pestle, grind white peppercorns into fine powder. Add coriander roots and garlic, pound into a smooth paste. Remove the paste from the mortar to a medium mixing bowl.
- Add soy sauce, sugar, salt, corn flour, and 1 beaten egg into the bowl. Mix the paste and the seasoning until well combined, then add minced pork, pork fat, crab meat, fresh coriander. The most practical way is mixing everything in the bowl by hand until the green coriander pieces are distributed throughout the mixture.
- Spoon the mixture and fill the cavity of the reserved crab shells. Use the back of the spoon to smooth out the mixture nicely. Steam the filled crab shells for about 8-10 minutes or until cooked. (You can prepare the crab to this stage ahead of time and keep them in the fridge then simply finish the following steps before serving.)
- In a wok, heat about 4 cups (or less) vegetable oil. Mix the other egg with rice flour. Brush the filling side of the crab shell with the egg mixture and fry them on medium high heat until golden to light brown in color. Remove from the wok onto paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
- Serve with sweet & sour sauce, and/or plum sauce and/or Sriracha hot sauce.
