Crab Paste
A traditional Jiangnan condiment made from fermented small stone crabs. Suitable for steaming or stir-frying.
Ingredients
small stone crabs (cleaned)
to taste
salt
to taste
sugar
to taste
soju
to taste
chili powder
to taste
sesame oil (to make crab expel internal matter)
2 drops
baijiu (add more when filling the jar)
to taste
Instructions
1
Purge
First, drop two drops of sesame oil into the water to force the crabs to expel all of the internal matter from their cavities, then wash each one clean individually and place them into the jar.
2
Seasoning
Add the salt, sugar, soju, and chili powder, then use a wooden pestle to pound the mixture thoroughly, layer by layer, until it breaks down into a paste.
3
Seal
Tie the mouth of the jar tightly, then smear yellow clay over the outside and set it aside to be sealed for storage.
4
Fermentation
After roughly a month the crab paste has fermented and matured; open the clay seal of the jar and you will be able to scoop out a glistening layer of crab oil brine from the top.
