{"id":29656,"date":"2026-02-19T14:42:43","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T06:42:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=29656"},"modified":"2026-02-19T14:42:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T06:42:43","slug":"dish-in-focus-crab-claw-porichettu-at-prince-and-the-peacock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=29656","title":{"rendered":"Dish in focus: crab claw porichettu at Prince and the Peacock"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n
Housed in the former Central Magistracy, Prince and the Peacock is one of Hong Kong\u2019s most striking stages for Indian cuisine<\/span>, pairing grand colonial architecture with a menu that looks beyond clich\u00e9s to the royal courts and coastal regions of India. At its helm is chef Palash Mitra, long admired for his refined, flavour-forward take on Indian food and seafood dishes. His current philosophy is distilled into a dish that\u2019s rooted in tradition yet shaped by Hong Kong, and is as visually composed as anything from a European fine-dining kitchen: the crab claw porichettu.<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\"The<\/div>
The interior of Prince and the Peacock. Photo: Handout<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cThis dish is all about simplicity, authenticity and deliciousness. It captures the essence of both India and Hong Kong in a unique and memorable way,\u201d Mitra says. The foundation is a porichettu sauce he knows intimately from travels through South India, especially coastal Kerala<\/span>. \u201cI have a deep appreciation for the porichettu sauce that serves as the foundation of this dish. The sauce\u2019s simple yet intricate composition captivates me, as I have savoured various interpretations of it during my travels to the region,\u201d he explains.<\/div>\n
When he chose to build a crab dish<\/span> around it, he decided to layer two types of crustacean: robust local mud crab for depth and texture, and \u201cI opted for snow crab claws to add a dramatic touch, enticing diners to uncover the explosion of flavours hidden within the curry. The sweetness of the snow crab presents a delightful contrast to the bold, tangy and spicy crab curry below.\u201d<\/div>\n

He begins by cleaning and cutting locally sourced mud crabs into pieces, then marinating them with sweet matsuba snow crab claws, finely chopped Poona onions, cold-pressed coconut oil and fermented palm (toddy) vinegar, letting \u201cthe flavours meld for about 30 minutes\u201d before cooking. It\u2019s a deceptively simple start that sets up the layers to come.<\/p>\n

To honour the dish\u2019s origins, Mitra cooks it in a karichatty, a heavy, blackened clay pot traditionally used in southern India for seafood. Its thick walls retain and distribute heat evenly so the crabs simmer gently, keeping the meat tender while slowly concentrating the sauce. In warmed coconut oil, he adds fresh green peppercorns, curry leaves and Kandhari dried chillies \u201cfor that quintessential South Indian zing\u201d. The marinated crab then goes into the pot and cooks until the shells turn bright, the meat is just opaque and the sauce has thickened. A final splash of coconut milk extract adds richness and body before he adjusts for salt and sourness.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Prince<\/div>
Prince and the Peacock\u2019s menu goes beyond clich\u00e9s. Photo: Handout<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Perfecting the recipe, he admits, took experimentation. \u201cFinding the optimal temperature for the snow crab required some trial and error. Unlike the hardy mud crabs, snow crabs are more delicate, so it took several attempts to determine the ideal timing to add the crab claws to the pot,\u201d he says. The result has clearly resonated. \u201cMany diners are impressed by the cleanliness, precision and composition of this dish presentation, but it is the clean yet complex flavours that truly leave them in awe. The layers of flavours reveal themselves one by one, resulting in a wonderful dining experience for our guests.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\n
Read Full Article At Source <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Housed in the former Central Magistracy, Prince and the Peacock is one of Hong Kong\u2019s most striking stages for Indian cuisine, pairing grand colonial architecture…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29657,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[15918,193,1264,2051,10007,15919,7581],"class_list":["post-29656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bored-interesting","tag-claw","tag-crab","tag-dish","tag-focus","tag-peacock","tag-porichettu","tag-prince","wpcat-33-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29656\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}