Ketam Masak Lemak a la Marina (Crab curry)

mmm.... yummy 

Actually I'm not sure what this dish is called in English. I'm calling it curry because I saw someone called it curry on tv. Anyway... it's a Malay dish but I don't have all the ingredients required (of course) so I had to do it with whatever is available.

The recipe actually calls for coconut milk. It'll be more flavorful with coconut milk. But I don't keep any at home. I replaced it with low fat milk. Serves the purpose not as nice .. The real recipe also has a bunch of other stuff .. which I don't even know.. So I just go with what I know and I thought would be good in it.. :)

I'm not sure where this dish originated.. but it's really famous in Negeri Sembilan.. and some parts of Melaka. They make it really hot though.. My mum and grandmother don't make it too hot.. In fact I only remember eating "masak lemak" that's mild.. really mild.. like if you can rate the heat from 1 to 10, it'd be a 0. I guess it goes back to what Chasing the Yum's Chef said about taste and flavor.. It's about balancing the flavors and highlighting what you like. :)

Since the crabs I had at home are not really fresh.. (I'm so gonna be scratching tonight) .. so I decided to add fragrance of kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass and some heat from bird chilis (lots ... about 6) and ginger. :D These ingredients are easily available in Malaysia.. I'm not sure about other places but when I lived in Pittsburgh way back when ;) I could find these ingredients at Oriental stores.. easy :D

I buy lots of kaffir lime leaves, I don't use all... I use maybe 1 or 2 and keep the rest in the freezer .. the kaffir lime leaves stay fresh in the freezer. so would "daun pandan" or screwpine leaves.. I'm not sure about other herbs though.. hmm.. perhaps I should try other types of leaves and see how they fare in the freezer :D

Anyway..... here's the recipe.. give it a try :)

Ingredients

1 Crab -  cleaned and quartered. (I also used the back of the knife to hit the claws of the crab.. it makes it easier to eat the crab and the curry to seep in :) yums)

Simply delicious

onions sliced
1-2 cloves garlic - minced
1/2 inch ginger - sliced
5-6 bird chili - minced
2 kaffir lime leaves - sliced thinly
lemongrass - sliced
2-3 tbs turmeric powder  - coat the crab with the turmeric powder
1 cup of low fat milk
1 cup of water
Oil for cooking
salt for seasoning






Method

1. Heat the pan.
2. Add oil into the heated pan. I used a small milk pan, and I needed about 2-3 tbsp of oil.
3. Saute the onions, then add garlic, ginger and chili in the pan. Saute for about 1 minute at medium heat. Stir occasionally.
4. Add kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass. Saute for 1 minute. Stir. 
5. Add the crab coated with turmeric powder. Stir for about 1-2 minutes. 
6. Add low fat milk and water. Simmer for a few minutes until the crab is cooked. Season with salt. 
7. Serve warm with rice.