Hairy crab is eaten for the roe and the paste, not the meat, so the cooking has to be gentle and short. Belly up keeps the roe from running out of the shell, and a slice of ginger on each crab cuts the pond smell without covering the sweetness. The dipping sauce is two parts soy to one of vinegar, with sesame oil and sugar to round it.
Jiangnan · Main
Steamed Hairy Crab, Started in Cold Water With Ginger on Top
Autumn crab goes into a cold pot, belly up, with a slice of ginger on each shell, and comes out fifteen minutes after the boil with every leg still attached.
- Prep15 min
- Cook18 min
- Serves4
- LevelEasy
Ingredients
| 8 | live hairy crabs , heavy for their size |
| 12 slices | ginger , four for the water, one per crab |
| 1 tbsp | Shaoxing wine |
| 1 tbsp | ginger , finely minced, for the dip |
| 2 tbsp | light soy sauce |
| 1 tbsp | aged black vinegar |
| 1/2 tbsp | sesame oil |
| 1/2 tbsp | caster sugar |
Method
- Pick crabs that feel heavy for their size, with a blue-green shell, a white belly and golden hairs on the legs. A light crab is a thin crab.
- Scrub each one under running water with a small brush, working around the joints where mud collects.
- Put cold water in the steamer, add the Shaoxing wine and four slices of ginger, and set the crabs in belly up.
- Lay one slice of ginger on the belly of each crab.
- Bring the water to a hard boil, then steam for about 15 minutes. Do not lift the lid in the first ten.
- While they steam, mix the minced ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and sugar in a small bowl.
- Take the crabs out and serve them hot with the dip. Cold crab turns rubbery and the roe sets hard.
Notes
- Starting in cold water rather than over boiling water is what keeps the legs on. A live crab hits steam and kicks, and the joints tear.
- Fifteen minutes suits crabs of ordinary market size. Add three minutes for a noticeably bigger one, and do not stack them more than two deep.
- The vinegar is there to cut the fat of the roe. If the crab is female and heavy with roe, use the full tablespoon.
Ratios and technique checked against 喜洋洋717 on Douguo (清蒸大闸蟹). The method here is written by Stellaok; the photograph is the source kitchen's, credited on the image above and linked back to the page it came from. No recipe text is reproduced.