Stir-Fried Crocodile with Ginger and Spring Onion

Keevil and Keevil sent me a box of meat to review a while ago and one of which was crocodile tail fillet. Crocodile is a white meat and is low in fat (less than 1%) and high in protein.

Because of its low fat content, it can be quite tough if overcooked and should be treated like lean pork or chicken breast. I decided to tenderise the meat with baking soda like how I would normally do with chicken breast and kept the dish simple by stir-frying the meat with spring onions and ginger. I also added carrots and black fungus for a bit of texture and colour.

The meat turned out quite tender. The texture of crocodile meat is like a corss between chicken and pork, but tastewise, more like fish. It actually reminded me of meaty fish like swordfish. To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the meat itself. I'd rather eat pork or chicken as the meat doesn't have a character of its own. The texture and taste were neither here nor there, it was just a weird combination of many things to me. I think I was more confused than anything. Maybe it just takes a little getting used to!

Stir-Fried Crocodile with Ginger and Spring Onion

Printable recipe
By Pig Pig's Corner

Prep time: 30 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Yield: serves 2


Ingredients:

• 350 g crocodile tail fillet - cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 40 g ginger - sliced
• 90 g (about 10 stalks) spring onion - cut into 2-inch in length, white and green parts separated
• 3 cloves garlic - finely chopped or pressed
• 1 small carrot - cut into strips
• 25 g black fungus - soaked until softened, cut into bite-sized pieces
• Oyster sauce (to taste)
• Sesame oil

Marinade:

• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• A dash white pepper powder
• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tbs Shaoxing wine
• 2 tsp corn flour

Directions:

• Mix together crocodile meat and baking soda to tenderise the meat. Leave at room temperature for 15 mins then rinse thoroughly. Drain and pat dry meat with paper towels.
• Mix together tenderised meat with all ingredients for marinade. Leave to marinate for at least 10 mins.
• Heat up about 1 tbs of oil in a wok. Add ginger, white part of spring onions and garlic. Stir-fry until fragrant.
• Add carrots and black fungus, stir-fry until carrots are softened.
• Add crocodile meat, stir-fry until meat is cooked through.
• Add green part of spring onions and season to taste.
• Lastly, drizzle a bit of sesame oil and serve with plain rice.