The beauty of this stuffed crab shell recipe is that you can pull it off with store-bought crab claw meat.

You could buy flower crabs, boil them and pick out the meat from the shells, but that requires too much time and work.

Making this dish at home also means you can be generous with the amount of crab meat.

Save the carapaces the next time you cook flower crabs. Clean and boil them before use.

I was lucky to score clean flower crab carapaces, or shells, for this recipe. I used 140g of the crab mixture to stuff the medium-sized shells.

Deep-fry the shells over medium-low heat so that the exterior does not burn before the filling is cooked.

• Follow Hedy Khoo on Instagram @hedchefhedykhoo

• Follow Straits Times Food on Instagram and Facebook @straitstimesfood

STUFFED CRAB SHELLS

INGREDIENTS

5 crab shells

454g pasteurised crab claw meat

20g panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

20g Chinese celery, chopped

15g spring onion, sliced

1 red finger chilli (15g), coarsely chopped

1 green finger chilli (15g), coarsely chopped

1 red onion (110g), chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

½ tsp ground black pepper

½ tsp ground coriander

2 Tbs fish sauce

1 tsp lime juice (from 1 small lime)

3 Tbs cornflour

1 whole egg, beaten

1 egg white

400ml oil

METHOD

1. Put crab meat in a bowl. Add panko, celery, spring onion, sliced chillies, red onion and garlic. Mix well.

2. Add black pepper, coriander, fish sauce, lime juice, cornflour, beaten egg and egg white. Mix well.

3. Fill each crab shell with about 140g of crab mixture. Place shells on a plate and wrap with cling film. Leave them in the fridge for two hours to help the mixture firm up.

4. Heat 400ml of oil in a wok. Place three crab shells, filling side down, in the oil. Lower the heat to medium-low. Fry for three minutes until the filling is golden-brown. Turn the shells over and fry for another two minutes.

5. Remove the shells and place them, filling side up, on kitchen paper to drain off excess oil.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the other two stuffed shells.

7. Serve immediately.

Makes five servings