Savory and aromatic, with a rich fragrance of caramelized ginger and scallions, and tender crab meat.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, eating crab is a traditional Chinese custom. Usually, crabs are steamed and served with a ginger and vinegar dipping sauce, where Zhenjiang aromatic vinegar is preferred for its mellow flavor with a hint of sweetness. However, even the best preparation can become tiresome after too much repetition, so it's nice to switch things up. This dish is a classic Cantonese method for cooking crab, a cuisine renowned for its seafood preparations. The crab is split in half, dusted with flour, and quickly deep-fried until crispy. Then, ginger and scallions are stir-fried, the crab is added back, and a sauce made with oyster sauce and light soy sauce, along with a splash of water, is used to braise it briefly. A light cornstarch slurry is added to thicken slightly, and it's ready to serve! The fragrance of ginger and scallion penetrates the shell into the tender white crab meat, complemented by a fresh and savory sauce cooked over high heat, creating an exceptionally remarkable flavor. I hope a plate of ginger and scallion braised crab you prepare will appear on your Mid-Autumn table, bringing a delightful surprise to your family.
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
3 large mud crabs (about 500 g each)
Always use live crabs. Grayish-black shell crabs have more meat than other varieties, making for a more satisfying meal, but if unavailable, regular crabs will work as well.
Additional Ingredients
250 g (about 9 oz) scallions
100 g ginger
3 cloves garlic
For best results, use thin scallions rather than large green onions, as they provide a superior flavor.
Seasonings for stir-frying the crab
15 g (about 1 tablespoon) yellow rice wine
10 g (about 2 teaspoons) light soy sauce
15 g (about 1 tablespoon) oyster sauce
3 g white sugar
pepper to taste
Dark soy sauce a few drops
Instructions
Instructions
Preparation
Step 1: Press the knife firmly against the area just below the crab's eyes, then use your left hand to forcefully pull off the top shell (Image 2)—the crab is done for. Remove the gills completely, cut the crab in half down the center (Image 3), then chop the body and legs into small pieces. Crack the claws with the back of the knife and set aside (Image 4).
*Be careful not to get pinched when handling the crabs.
*The crab gills are the soft, pointed, curved parts on either side visible after lifting the crab shell—these must be removed.
Drain the crab pieces and pat them dry, then sprinkle with some cornstarch and toss to coat evenly.
This helps keep the crab meat tender, and the starch also absorbs some moisture from the crab's surface, reducing splattering during frying.
④ Cut scallions into sections, slice ginger into thick pieces, and mince garlic for later use (Image 5).
Deep-fry the crabs
⑤ Pour an appropriate amount of oil into the wok and heat until it reaches 80% hot. Over high heat, fry the ginger slices until the surface turns golden brown, then remove them (Image 6). Maintaining high heat, reheat the oil to 80% hot again, then add the crab pieces and fry for about 1 minute (Image 7). Once the surface looks dry and loose, remove and set aside.
For this dish, the ginger slices must be fried first to develop a toasted, aromatic flavor. Except for the final 3 minutes of simmering the crab, use high heat throughout the entire cooking process to achieve a dry, fragrant result.
*Since home kitchens typically have smaller pots and less oil, it's best to fry in two batches to prevent the oil temperature from dropping too quickly and affecting the dish's texture.
Stir-fried crab and braised crab
⑥ Pour off the oil from the wok, leaving just a thin layer. Heat it over high heat, then add the scallion segments and stir-fry for about 30 seconds until fragrant (Image 8). Add the fried ginger slices, crab, and minced garlic, continuing to stir-fry over high heat for a few seconds. Then add all the crab stir-fry seasonings and toss to combine evenly (Image 9).
When adding seasonings for the stir-fried crab, first add Shaoxing wine to release the aroma, then add the rest.
Add a small amount of hot water, cover the pot, and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes to infuse the flavors. Finally, thicken with a little cornstarch slurry, then increase the heat to high and reduce the sauce until it thickens (Figure 10).
*Add only a small amount of hot water—if you add too much, the dish will lose its dry, aromatic quality; the seasonings are already salty enough, so no additional salt is needed.
*Finally, be sure to leave a little sauce in the pan to thicken, allowing it to coat the crab pieces for more flavor.
This technique can be flexibly adapted to other ingredients.
This method works well with a variety of ingredients, such as large shell-on shrimp, fish fillets, and chicken pieces.
A lazy cook's trick
If you find deep-frying too troublesome, you can skip that step for the crabs. Add a little oil to the wok, heat it until very hot, then add the crab pieces and stir-fry over high heat until cooked through, then transfer to a plate. The crab pieces will release a lot of water, so you'll need to wash the wok, heat it again, add a little more oil, and get it very hot over high heat. First, dry-fry the ginger until it turns golden and fragrant, then add the scallions and stir-fry until aromatic. Next, add the cooked crab pieces back in, and follow the remaining steps as before. This method still yields decent flavor, but there is a noticeable difference in the final result.