SINGAPORE CRAB WITH STOTTIE CAKE

When I visited the Northumberland Seafood Centre on the fabulous east coast I was fascinated to see the lobster hatchery, and it gave me the idea for my favourite lobster and crab dish of all time. I cooked the dish on the beach next to Bamburgh Castle and somehow the Singaporestyle chilli sauce didn’t seem out of place. The local stottie cake (a dense, round bread) was great to mop up the leftover sauce.

Serves 6-8

● 200ml (7fl oz) vegetable oil

● 2 whole garlic bulbs, cloves separated, peeled and sliced

● 1 red chilli, sliced

● 2 green chillies, sliced

● 2 bird’s eye chillies, sliced

● 1 bunch of spring onions, trimmed and sliced

● 2 lemongrass stalks, chopped

● 10cm piece of fresh root ginger, diced

● 400ml (14fl oz) tomato ketchup

● 100ml (3½fl oz) sweet chilli sauce

● 2tbsp caster sugar

● 50ml (2fl oz) fish sauce

● 100ml (3½fl oz) soy sauce

● 100ml (3½fl oz) hoisin sauce

● 1tsp smoked sea salt (from larger supermarkets)

● 16 cooked brown crab claws, shells cracked

● 2 cooked whole crabs, dead man’s fingers removed, cut into 3 pieces

● 1 lobster, cooked (you can remove the shell and cut into 6, if you like)

● A small bunch of coriander, chopped To serve

● A small bunch of mint, chopped

● A bunch of spring onions, sliced

● 1 large stottie cake (from some supermarkets) or ciabatta loaf, toasted and torn into chunks

Line a large plate with kitchen paper. Heat half of the vegetable oil in a small heavy pan placed over a medium heat to 170°C or until a breadcrumb sizzles and turns brown when dropped into the oil. Fry the garlic in the hot oil for

1-2 minutes until golden and crisp, then remove with a slotted spoon to drain on the kitchen paper.

Put a large flameproof roasting tin over a medium heat on the hob and pour in the remaining oil. When the oil is hot, add the chillies, spring onions, lemongrass and ginger and fry for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the ketchup, sweet chilli sauce, caster sugar, fish sauce, soy and hoisin, season with the smoked sea salt and cook for a further 4 minutes.

Add all the crab and lobster to the roasting tin and stir through, making sure all the pieces are coated. Cook for a further 4 minutes until heated through, then stir in the chopped coriander.

To serve, sprinkle with the mint, spring onions and crispy garlic and enjoy with chunks of toasted stottie cake or ciabatta to mop up the sauce.