CHAP Goh Meh falls on 26 February this year, marking the last and 15th day of the Lunar New Year. Fix this quick and simple Chinese omelette with crabmeat for your family meal. It’s delicious when done right – fluffy and slightly custardy. The American-Chinese version of this recipe with origins in China, is popular in Chinese restaurants across America. It’s usually slathered with a sauce but you can skip it.
Total Time: 45 minutes
Difficulty: 1/5
Cost: S$7.50
Serves: 3 persons
A: Eggs & Crabs
3 large eggs, preferably free-range (kampung) @65g each
3 teaspoons water
2 blue swimmer crabs, approximately 400g or 180g crab meat, store bought
3 tablespoons oil
B: Vegetables
4cm celery rib, diced
½ stalk spring onion, diced
½ medium red chilli, seeded and diced
Handful of beansprouts, tailed
C: Seasoning
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
½ teaspoon salt
Pinch of ground pepper
D: Garnishing
1 stalk parsley, just the tips
3 crab claws that have been set aside
DIRECTIONS:
- Bring 2 litres of water to a rolling boil in a wok. Steam crab for 10 minutes. Fresh swimmer crabs have a vibrant blue hue which turns ruby red when cooked. Set them aside to cool down.
2. Extract crab meat. For the claws, keep tips intact after cracking it. Reserve them for garnishing. Set it aside.
3. Break eggs into a large bowl. See tip. Using a fork, whisk it quickly with until whites and yolks are blended. Do not overbeat or the omelette will not be tender. Add in salt and pepper.
4. Next, add celery and chilli into egg mixture. Spring onions and beansprouts are added separately.
5. Heat oil in a frying pan or wok over medium heat. Sauté minced garlic until fragrant but not brown.
6. Pour egg mixture in. Using a spatula, stir gently until egg begins to set around the edges. Spread crabmeat on top of omelette. Toss in spring onion.
Next, toss in beansprouts and cook until crisp – see tip.
7. Using a spatula, run it along the edge of the pan to loosen the omelette. Then gently slide it onto a serving plate. Garnish with coriander, spring onions and crabmeat claws.
TIP: Beansprouts is an ingredient in the traditional egg foo young recipe. To avoid overcooking, keep it under 10 seconds.
TECHNIQUE: Whisking eggs with water results in a lighter and fluffier omelette that is slightly custardy inside. Free-range eggs encased in white shell were used in this recipe; weight for weight, they have slightly larger yolks (10% more) than normal brown-shelled eggs. They are also more orangey from a diet rich in carotenoids and have better flavour.
Photos: Evonne Lyn Lee
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