Sichuan-style Spicy Crab

Sichuan-style Spicy Crab

　　The spicy crab dishes at restaurants can be quite expensive, ranging from 78 yuan per jin, with most falling around this price.

　　I’ve always eaten more spicy shrimp, but for crabs, I had assumed they were usually steamed or boiled—never tried this fiery-looking preparation. More importantly, I thought crabs were a bit of a luxury item—but for those who love good food, taste definitely comes before budget.

　　[Origin] Originating around 2000 in Chengdu, it quickly gained nationwide popularity and remains highly praised to this day, being a classic example of modern Sichuan cuisine.

　　[Method One]

　　[Main ingredient]: Mud crab [Side ingredients]: Scallions, ginger, Sichuan peppercorns

　　[Seasonings/marinade]: Salt, sugar, white spirit, dried chili peppers, cooking wine, vinegar, chicken essence, cooking oil

　　Instructions: 1. Place the mud crab in a container, add some white spirit to stun it, then remove the gills, stomach, and intestines, and cut into pieces; 2. Wash the scallions and ginger, cut the scallions into sections and the ginger into slices; 3. Heat oil in a pan, once the oil reaches about 30% heat, add Sichuan peppercorns and dried chilies. Once they release a numbing-spicy aroma, add the ginger slices, scallion sections, and crab pieces. Pour in cooking wine, vinegar, sugar, salt, stir well, and serve hot.

　　Tip: The edible parts of the crab are the meat, roe, and gonads. Inedible parts include the stomach, intestines, and gills. Avoid eating fruits or drinking raw water immediately after eating crab.

　　[Method Two]

　　Main ingredient: 4 crabs

　　Ingredients: 200g of Chongqing hotpot base, 50g (1 liang) of ginger slices, 20g of monosodium glutamate, 100g (2 liang) of oil, 100g (2 liang) of white spirit, 100g (2 liang) of distiller’s grains, a pinch of white pepper, salt to taste. Dipping sauce: Mix mashed garlic and sesame oil with a bit of MSG, or you can use the same sauce as for hotpot meat.

　　Method:

　　1. Heat oil in a pot, add main and side ingredients, stir-fry until fragrant, add an appropriate amount of water, simmer over medium heat for 5–10 minutes, then pour into a hotpot and start cooking.

　　2. You can cook anything edible—such as crown daisy, tofu, blood tofu, shrimp, beef tendon, duck intestines, sausage, ham, bean curd sheets, various vegetables, seafood, meats, and more—based on your preference.