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1
Put the mung beans into a bowl and cover with warm water; soak until soft and pliable, about 10 minutes.
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2
Drain.
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3
Set aside.
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4
If you are using a cooked crab, have the fishmonger crack it into large pieces.
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5
To clean a live crab, be careful, and use a brush to scrub its underside and between the claws and legs to loosen the sand and grit.
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6
Rinse thoroughly with cold water.
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7
Plunge the crab into boiling water for a minute to kill it.
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8
Remove.
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9
When cool, clean, disjoint and chop the crab into large chunks.
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10
In a mortar or spice mill, pound or grind the peppercorns first, then add the coriander root and garlic, and work it into a paste.
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11
Mix together the sugar, Golden Mountain, soy and oyster sauces, rice wine and sesame oil in a bowl.
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12
Pour the vegetable oil into a 3 1/2-quart sandy clay pot casserole (or a Dutch oven) and set over medium heat.
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13
Add the coriander-garlic- pepper paste and saute lightly.
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14
Increase the heat to high.
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15
Add ginger, chiles and raw crab pieces; toss and brown for a minute.
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16
Add the shrimp an green onions to crab mixture; stir-fry for 30 seconds.
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17
Pour in the soy sauce mixture and mung bean noodles; toss and mix together.
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18
Stir in the water, cover pot, reduce heat to medium and braise for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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19
If the noodles seem dry, add more water.
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20
Increase heat to medium-high, and gently stir in the fish and squid (and cooked crab if using), mix with the noodles, top with the basil leaves.
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21
Cover and cook for 3 to 5 minutes longer.
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22
Check for doneness.
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23
Garnish with fresh coriander sprigs.
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24
Bring the clay pot to the table and serve hot with rice and vegetables.
