Steaming hairy crabs is the simplest and most original way to make it. But this delicious taste is not available all year round. Sometimes it is inevitable to forget that when faced with it wearing armor, you don’t know how mature it is. I think it means it's cooked when you can smell the aroma of crab filling the kitchen. Usually, put it in the pot under cold water, then steam it over medium heat for about 15 minutes after the water boils.

1. Steamed hairy crabs

Steamed hairy crabs

Ingredients: 8 hairy crabs;

Dipping sauce: 4 slices of ginger, half a bowl of rice vinegar , a little bit of brown sugar;

Method: Use a small brush to clean the hairy crabs one by one, cut off all the plastic labels, and it is best to remove all the ropes that bind the crabs. Add enough water to the pot, and place the hairy crabs on the steamer with the white belly facing up to prevent brown leakage. After boiling the pot, turn to medium heat and steam for about 15 minutes, then turn off the heat until the crab is fragrant. While the crabs are steaming, peel and mince the ginger, add rice vinegar and a little brown sugar and mix well to make a dipping sauce to ward off the cold and increase the freshness.

Tips:

Female crabs are the fattest during the Mid-Autumn Festival. To tell the difference between male and female crabs, look at the navel. Female crabs with round navels and male crabs with pointed navels.

The "Four Don'ts" of hairy crabs are said to contain bacterial toxins and so on, so it is best to remove them. See the picture below for the specific locations. Crab gills can be seen when you open the crab shell. The soft hairs distributed on both sides are the respiratory organs of the crab. Just pull them off. The crab heart, a small soft white flake, is said to be the coldest part of the crab. Crab stomach, a triangular-shaped bony packet, also called crab bubble, contains dirt and sand. Crab intestines, when you break open the navel, you will see a black line at the bottom.

Two: Hairy crabs cooked in Huadiao wine

The cooked hairy crabs are more delicious. The ones cooked in Huadiao wine have no fishy smell at all, only delicious and more moist. Someone told me that we Yangcheng Lake people always eat crabs boiled, never steamed. Steamed crabs are simply a waste. They only have the aroma but no freshness. Hairy crab, hairy crab, means big boiled crab in Suzhou dialect, and hairy crab and boiled are the same pronunciation. I have also read in Mr. Chua Lam's book that the most famous crab shop in Hong Kong is boiled, and the umami flavor will not be diluted by this.

Boiled hairy crabs in Huadiao wine

Ingredients: 6 hairy crabs.

Ingredients: 1 small bowl of Huadiao wine (about 200 grams), 1 small spoon of salt (about 3-4 grams), 6 slices of ginger.

Method: Wash the hairy crabs with a small brush under running water. Cut off the plastic labels. It is best to remove the rope, but if you want to keep the crab claws from falling off, just wash them and cook them together. Add three bowls of water to the pot, then add a small bowl of Huadiao wine and a small spoonful of salt and mix well. Arrange the hairy crabs vertically into the pot, cover them, bring to a boil over high heat, then turn to medium heat, and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the wine smell turns into a delicious aroma.

Tips: The amount of water does not need to be too much, not more than the hairy crabs, just more than half, so as not to dilute the aroma of the wine. There was a smell of alcohol when it was first cooked, but then it disappeared and it had a unique fresh taste of crab. Huadiao wine cannot be replaced with cooking wine, rice wine or other wines. The taste is not the same thing. Huadiao wine is the top quality of Shaoxing wine.

3. Beer-boiled hairy crabs

Having eaten boiled hairy crabs, you don’t want to steam them again. People at the beach also say that boiling crabs is normal. We at the beach often eat seafood cooked. , the taste is very fresh. This one does not need to be watered at all. It is also good to cook it all with beer. Add some ginger slices. It is fragrant and flavorful, not fishy at all. After eating three pieces, I still want to eat it.

Beer-boiled hairy crabs

Ingredients: 6 hairy crabs.

Ingredients: 1 large can of beer, 8 slices of ginger, 1 tsp of salt.

Method: Wash the hairy crabs cleanly. Do not untie the rope. Pour clean water into the pool, add some salt and mix well. Soak the hairy crabs for a while, sterilize and disinfect the tied ropes, and then wash them clean. Add a large can of beer to the pot, add ginger slices, and a little salt and mix well. Arrange the hairy crabs vertically into the pot, cover them, bring to a boil over high heat, then turn to medium heat, and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the wine smell turns into a delicious aroma.

Tips:

You can add more beer and cook for 15 minutes. The hairy crabs will be moist and fresh. Don't add too much salt, add a little less to bring out the fresh and sweet taste of the hairy crabs. There is no fishy smell when eating hairy crabs, but there is a fishy smell in your hands after eating it. This is the unique smell of hairy crabs and is not easy to remove. However, you can rub it away by pouring beer or rice wine into your hands.