Pearls Hidden in Crab
A Korean-style presentation dish shaped like a live crab, with pigeon eggs nestled inside green crab. Colorful, refreshing, and delicious.
Ingredients
Large green crab (washed, steamed, meat removed, shell reserved)
2
Quail eggs (steamed, peeled)
10
Rapeseed leaves (shredded and deep-fried until crispy)
100 g
Peeled potato (shredded and deep-fried until crispy)
100 g
Egg whites (whipped into foam)
3
Dried water chestnut starch (for thickening)
25 g
Salt (to season)
5 g
Cooking wine (to season)
15 g
MSG (to season)
5 g
Chicken broth (for simmering)
150 ml
Sugar (to season)
5 g
Minced scallion and ginger (for aroma)
20 g
Sesame oil (for brushing crab legs and fried vegetable shreds)
10 g
Rendered chicken fat (for stir-frying)
50 g
Instructions
1
Prepare the crab
Wash the large green crabs thoroughly to remove mud and sand. Remove the apron, rinse again, then steam in a steamer until cooked through. Remove, lift off the crab shell, scoop out the internal sand sac, and reserve the shell. Pick the meat from the body. Trim the legs neatly with scissors, brush with sesame oil, and arrange them in a long serving platter at both ends to mimic the original crab-leg shape.
2
Steam the quail eggs
Rinse the quail eggs, place them in a bowl of cold water, and steam until cooked. Remove and peel off the shells.
3
Simmer the quail eggs
Heat a wok and add the rendered chicken fat. When it is about half-hot, add the minced scallion and ginger and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the salt, MSG, chicken broth, and quail eggs, and simmer until well flavored. Stir in the water chestnut starch to thicken into a glossy glaze, using only a small amount of sauce.
4
Stir-fry the crab meat
Heat a clean wok and melt the rendered chicken fat. Stir-fry the minced scallion and ginger until fragrant. Add the crab meat and stir-fry briefly, then splash in the cooking wine. Add the sugar, salt, and chicken broth and simmer until the liquid is thick and nearly dry. Remove and place the crab meat in the center of the platter between the two ends of crab legs. Add the quail eggs on top and cover with the reserved crab shell to recreate the original crab shape.
5
Make the egg-white foam
Pour the chicken broth into a separate pot and bring to a boil. Whip the egg whites with chopsticks until stiff peaks form (stiff enough to stand without collapsing). Fold in the water chestnut starch, pour into the boiling broth, cook until set, then scoop out.
6
Garnish and assemble
Place the cooked egg-white foam in front of the crab's mouth to mimic foam it is spitting out. Separately cut the rapeseed leaves and peeled potato into fine shreds, deep-fry in hot sesame oil until crispy, and arrange them on both sides of the crab to resemble aquatic plants. Serve.
