When steaming crabs, you generally need to use cold water to boil them. Wait for the water to boil again and then steam for about 8-10 minutes. If you cook them together, it will take about 15-20 minutes.

How long does it take to steam crabs

The most important thing about steaming crabs is to maintain the freshness of the crabs and steam the crabs without overcooking them. The most common problems that occur when steaming crabs are steaming for too long, resulting in the meat not being fresh and sweet, or steaming for too little time, leading to parasites.

The steaming time of crabs cannot be generalized, because the time required for a whole crab and a crab cut into pieces is completely different. Therefore, the following will be explained in two aspects.

1. How to cook whole live crabs

When making dishes such as steamed crabs, whole live crabs are usually steamed in a pot. After the steamer boils, put the crabs in. Steam them over high heat for about 5 minutes, then switch to low heat and continue steaming for a while. The specific steaming time depends on the size of the crabs:

3 Crabs weighing less than 2 taels should be steamed for about 10 minutes, crabs weighing 3 to 4 taels should be steamed for about 12 minutes, and crabs weighing more than 4 taels should be steamed for about 15 minutes. Usually, every time the weight increases by 1 tael, the steaming time will increase by about 2 minutes. Crabs have certain toxicity and parasites. If you don't give them enough time, it will not be easy to kill and destroy the poisonous and parasites. But if you give them too much time, the crabs will lose their delicious taste, and it will not be easy to separate the meat from the shell, making it inconvenient to eat.

2. How to cook diced crabs

When making dishes such as scallion oil crab, you need to cut the crabs into small pieces first, and then steam them in a pot. Cut crabs also need to be boiled in water. Steam them over high heat for 5 minutes, then steam over low heat for about 10 minutes.

In short, whether it is a whole crab or a crab cut into pieces, the total steaming time from the time when the boiling water is put into the pot should not be less than 15 minutes, because it takes about 15 minutes to kill parasites or cause Disease microorganisms are completely killed, and this time will not cause the crab meat to age.

The specific time to steam crabs depends on the size of the crabs.