Guest chef: Kylie Kwong

These recipes celebrate my heritage — third-generation Australian, 29th generation Kwong.

Stir-fried blue swimmer crab with salted black bean, chilli & native herbs. Picture: Dylan Robinson

These recipes celebrate my heritage — third-generation Australian, 29th generation Kwong. Integrating native foods into traditional Cantonese fare is my way of paying respect to indigenous Australians. For native produce try outbackpride.com.au; you can use coriander and mint instead of sea parsley or sea blite.

Guest chef Kylie Kwong. Picture: Dylan Robinson

Stir-fried blue swimmer crab with salted black bean, chilli & native herbs

1kg blue swimmer crabs

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 red shallots, finely sliced

15g piece of ginger, julienned

2 tablespoons fermented salted black beans

2 large red chillies, finely

sliced on the diagonal

3 tablespoons shao hsing

wine or dry sherry

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 tablespoon tamari or light soy sauce

1 teaspoon brown rice vinegar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

15g native sea parsley

15g native sea blite

Chilli sauce

8 red chillies, roughly chopped

6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

75g ginger, roughly chopped

125ml vegetable oil

1/2  teaspoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon tamari or light soy sauce

For the chilli sauce, whiz chilli, garlic and ginger in food processor or blender until finely chopped. Heat oil in wok until surface shimmers, reduce heat to low-medium and add chilli mixture. Cook, stirring regularly, for about 3 minutes to bring out flavours, then add sugar and cook for 1 minute, stirring regularly so sauce doesn't catch.

Stir in tamari or soy sauce, reduce heat to low and cook, still stirring, for 10 minutes until sauce becomes dark and oil starts to leach out (the sauce can be used straight away, or cooled and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week). If alive, put crabs in freezer for an hour then kill humanely; place each head down on chopping board and prise off top shells, then chop bodies in half and remove the feathery grey gills. Discard innards (or save some of the "mustard" for a mayonnaise) and rinse. Crack larger claws with a mallet or the back of a heavy knife. Place crab in a shallow heatproof bowl that will fit inside a steamer basket, then place bowl in a steamer over boiling water (or place straight into the steamer) and steam, covered, for 8-9 minutes until crabmeat is white rather than translucent. Meanwhile, heat oil in wok, then add shallots, ginger and black beans; stir-fry until fragrant.

Add chilli, then shao hsing wine. Stir to combine and reduce until almost evaporated, then add sugar and 120g of chilli sauce and stir-fry until combined. Add a little water or stock, tamari or soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil. Once the crab is cooked, mix native sea parsley and sea blite into sauce, then add crab and toss well to combine, ensuring you don't break up the pieces.

Serves 2-4 as a starter

Stir-fried native greens.

Stir-fried native greens

3 tablespoons peanut oil

1/2  teaspoon salt flakes

3 cloves garlic, crushed

40g fresh salt bush, picked leaves

40g fresh warrigal green leaves

2 tablespoons organic tamari

3 tablespoons stock

40g fresh karkalla, picked

40g fresh bower spinach,

picked leaves

1/2  teaspoon sesame oil

Heat peanut oil in hot wok until surface seems to shimmer slightly.

Add salt and garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add salt bush and warrigal leaves; stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add tamari and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add stock and cook for a further 30 seconds, then add karkalla, bower spinach and sesame oil; stir to combine for 30 seconds. Serve immediately.

Serves 4 as a side dish

Kylie Kwong is the owner of Billy Kwong restaurant in Sydney's Potts Point.

Photography: Rohan Kelly, Penny Lane