Chilli and black bean blue swimmer crabs

Recipe via The Food Dept.

• 750g ripe tomatoes
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 8 purple shallots, finely sliced
• 4 large cloves garlic, crushed
• 5cm piece ginger, peeled and grated
• 3 small red chillies, sliced
• 1 tablespoon salted black beans, rinsed
• 4 uncooked, blue swimmer crabs
• 2 tablespoons Chilli jam
• 2 tablespoons shaved palm sugar
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• ½ cup good quality fish or crab stock
• 4 shallots, thinly sliced on the diagonal, to garnish
• 1 cup coriander sprigs, to garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 200˚C (400˚F). Place the tomatoes on an oven tray and prick the skins. Roast for 20 minutes until the skins blister. Remove from the oven and when cool enough to handle, peel the skins and roughly chop, set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a wok over a high heat and sauté the shallots, garlic, ginger, chillies and black beans until shallots are transparent. Remove from the heat and set aside the wok.
3. To prepare the crabs, rinse them under cold water. Turn the crabs upside down and lift the flap, pulling away from the crab body to remove the outer shell. Cut the crab in half and remove the gills, cut into quarters and rinse the crab under cold water and pat dry with paper towel. Clean and rinse the removed crab shell and cook with the crab pieces for decoration.
4. Return the wok to a high heat and add the crab pieces to the wok with the shallots, garlic, ginger and black beans, toss well. Cover the wok and cook for 5–7 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the crab shells have begun to turn bright orange.
5. Add the tomatoes, Chilli jam, palm sugar, fish sauce, tomato paste and fish stock. Bring to a simmer and cook the crab for another 5–10 minutes or until the crab is cooked through. If you would like the sauce thicker, remove the crab pieces from the wok, cover with foil and keep warm, simmer the sauce until it has thickened then return the crab to the wok, toss through the sauce.
6. Sprinkle with shallots and coriander. Serve immediately with rice or warmed roti.