Double-Flavor Mud Crab

Name: Double-Flavor Mud Crab
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 2 (750 g) Live mud crabs; 180 g Mud crab meat; 150 g Sea eel meat (chopped into paste); 3 g MSG; 25 g Cilantro; 5 g Vinegar; 200 g Cooked pork fat (cut into 5 cm diameter, 0.7 cm thick round slices); 60 g Shaoxing wine; 5 g Chopped scallion; 4 g Fine salt; 5 g Minced ginger; 4 Egg whites; 20 g Julienned ginger; 75 g Dry starch; 15 g Ginger slices; 1000 g (about 25 g used) Cooked pork lard (about 25 g used); 25 g Scallion knots

This dish features mud crab prepared two ways—gently steamed and pan-seared in pot-sticker style—delivering tender, succulent meat with two complementary flavors in a single course.

1h 15m

Medium

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Ingredients

Live mud crabs 2 (750 g)

Mud crab meat 180 g

Sea eel meat (chopped into paste) 150 g

MSG 3 g

Cilantro 25 g

Vinegar 5 g

Cooked pork fat (cut into 5 cm diameter, 0.7 cm thick round slices) 200 g

Shaoxing wine 60 g

Chopped scallion 5 g

Fine salt 4 g

Minced ginger 5 g

Egg whites 4

Julienned ginger 20 g

Dry starch 75 g

Ginger slices 15 g

Cooked pork lard (about 25 g used) 1000 g (about 25 g used)

Scallion knots 25 g

Instructions

Prepare fish paste

Chop the sea eel meat into a paste, mix in 3 g of fine salt and 100 g of water, beat until sticky, then thoroughly incorporate 2 egg whites and 2 g of MSG.

Stir-fry crab meat

Place a wok over medium heat, add 5 g of cooked pork lard along with chopped scallion, minced ginger, and crab meat, stir-fry, then add 1 g of fine salt, 10 g of Shaoxing wine, 1 g of MSG, and vinegar; stir-fry until cooked through, remove and set aside.

Coat with batter

Cut the cooked pork fat into 5 cm diameter, 0.7 cm thick round slices, poke several holes through each slice with the back of a knife. Sprinkle 15 g of dry starch on a plate, mix 2 egg whites with 60 g of dry starch to form a batter. Dip the pork fat slices in the batter to coat evenly and lay them out on the plate.

Shape the dish

Divide the stir-fried crab meat over the pork fat slices, cover each with the fish paste, and top with crab roe and cilantro leaves.

Pan-fry the crab cakes

Heat the wok and coat the bottom with cooked pork lard. Arrange the crab cakes in the wok and place over low heat to pan-fry until the pork fat forms a crust. Add cool oil to submerge the fish paste and slowly pan-fry until cooked through, drain off the excess oil, then pan-fry again until the bottom turns golden, and remove.

Steam

Rinse the mud crabs, lift off the top shells, remove the gills and sand sacs, wash again, and place on a plate. Add the scallion knots and ginger slices, sprinkle with 50 g of Shaoxing wine, and steam in a steamer over high heat until cooked through.

Plate

Cut off the tips of the steamed mud crab legs, cut every crab into eight portions, crack the claw shells, and arrange the pieces in their original shape at both ends of an oval plate. Reattach the original top shells. Arrange the crab cakes in the center of the plate, fill the gaps with cilantro and julienned ginger, and serve with 2 small dishes of vinegar.