Beer Battered Soft Shell Crabs with Asian Dipping Sauce
Submitted by Jukie
Crispy beer battered soft shell crabs soaked in milk, fried golden, and served with a punchy Asian dipping sauce of fish sauce, lime, honey, and chili. Restaurant-worthy seafood at home.
YIELD
1 batchPREP
35 minCOOK
25 minREADY
1 hrsThis is soft shell crab done right, with a few extra steps that make all the difference.
The crabs get a milk soak to mellow any briny edge, then a dip in a rested beer batter that fries up light and shattering crisp.
But the real star here is the dipping sauce: fish sauce, lime juice, honey, garlic, scallion, and sliced habanero (or jalapeño if you want to dial it back) combine into something salty, sweet, sour, and fiery all at once.
It’s the kind of dish that turns a regular Tuesday dinner into something you’d pay good money for at a seafood restaurant.
Chef Tips
- Let the batter rest for a full hour after mixing, then strain it through a sieve. This removes lumps and lets the gluten relax for a lighter, crispier coating.
- Soak the cleaned crabs in milk for 10 to 15 minutes before battering. It sweetens the meat and takes out any strong ocean flavor.
- Fry only two crabs at a time. Crowding the oil makes the temperature plummet and gives you soggy, pale crabs.
- Scale the heat in the dipping sauce to your crowd. Habanero brings serious fire. Jalapeño gives a gentler warmth that lets the lime and fish sauce come through.
Ingredients
scotch bonnet, or jalapeno chili,, depending on desired degree of heat *
Directions
Put the flour into a bowl and make a well in the center. Pour 1 cup of the beer into the well and whisk until the mixture is just combined. Strain the batter through a sieve into a clean bowl and let it rest, covered, for 1 hour. Before using batter, whisk in additional beer, if necessary, to achieve desired consistency.
In a small bowl whisk together the lime juice, fish sauce and honey until dissolved. Add the water, garlic, scallion and chili slices. Set aside. Place cleaned crabs in a shallow dish and add enough milk to cover. Soak crabs for 10 to 15 minutes.
In a heavy deep pan heat 2-inches of peanut oil to 350℉ (180℃). Season the crabs with salt and pepper. Dust the crabs with flour, shaking off any excess. Coat and fry crabs two at a time. Dip each crab into the beer batter andallow extra batter to drip back into bowl. Carefully lower the crabs into the heated oil and fry until golden brown, turning once, about 2 minutes per side.
Transfer fried crabs to paper towels to drain. Repeat process with remaining two crabs. Arrange crabs on individual serving plates. Garnish with scallion brushes, cilantro sprigs and lime wedges. Serve immediately with dipping sauce on the side.
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