Steamed Crab With Ginger Recipes

Steps:

• To segment the crabs, lift the flap under the body with your thumb and pull off the top part of the shell with one hand while holding the body firmly with the other and discard the top shell.
• Remove and discard the spongy white gills on either side of the body and rinse out the brown/yellow much and then use a sharp knife to cut each body in half and then that half in half again and crack the claws with a nutcracker.
• Put a rack into a electric fry pan (skillet - ours are square) and put water into bottom of the frypan (in the original recipe they used a bamboo steamer in a wok and used a heat proof dish in the steamer), bring the water to the boil.
• Meanwhile, place lemon grass on a heatproof plate and place crab on the lemon grass (try to do one layer) and sprinkle with sugar and drizzle with soy sauce and half of the sliced ginger.
• Place the plate in the steamer and cook covered for 3 minutes or until crab is just cooked through (the meat will be white rather than transparent when cooked - we found the crabs in Cowell cooked quicker than we were used to in Perth).
• Sprinkle with spring onions and remaining ginger and cook a further minute or 2 until spring onion wilts and then remove from heat (to be honest I put all the ginger and spring onions together in the previous step and missed this one cooking the crab for 5 minutes which actually overcooked it).
• We just put the plate (or in our case it was 2 plates) in the centre of the table with finger bowls and napkins and everyone helps themselves or put into individual serving bowls and garnish with coriander leaves.

Steps:

• Put water in the bottom of a steamer. Put the crabs on a plate and spread the wine, sliced ginger, and 1/4 cup soy sauce over them. Place in the steamer and cover; cook until the crabs are hot and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients to make a dipping sauce. Serve hot with the dipping sauce.

Steps:

• Prepare a grill to medium-high heat.
• In a large roasting pan over high heat, add the stock, mirin, soy sauce, ginger, toasted sesame oil and lime juice and bring to a boil. Add the crabs, shell-side up, and place the pan on the grill. Cover the grill and steam the crabs until they are just cooked through, about 30 minutes, flipping the crabs halfway through cooking. Remove the crabs to a platter.
• Strain the steaming liquid into a bowl. Return the liquid to the roasting pan and whisk in the honey, black pepper and chile flakes. Bring to a boil and simmer until slightly reduced, about 10 minutes. Whisk in the butter. Halve the crabs and put 2 halves into 4 serving bowls. Pour the sauce over and garnish with cilantro.

Steps:

• Remove the top shells from the crabs. Halve each crab body and cut each half into 2 pieces. Using a meat mallet or the back of a chef's knife, gently smash the claws to break up the shell slightly. Transferred the crab body pieces to a colander set over a large bowl. Place the top shells and claws on a plate.
• Separate the scallion whites and greens. Split the scallion whites lengthwise, cut into 2-inch pieces and place in a small bowl. Cut the remaining scallion greens into 2-inch pieces and place in another small bowl.
• Make the sauce. Whisk the oyster sauce, sugar, white pepper and 1/2 cup water in a medium bowl until combined. Set aside.
• Shake off the excess liquid from the crab pieces in the colander over the sink. Reserve the large bowl. Transfer half of the crab pieces to a large plate and set aside.
• Sprinkle 2 tablespoons cornstarch over the crab pieces in the colander and toss until coated completely. Place the colander over the reserved large bowl. Wait to coat the remaining crab until the first batch is frying to prevent the cornstarch from becoming too thick.
• Fill a wok or high-sided large skillet a little less than halfway (about 3 inches) with canola oil and heat over high until shimmering. Carefully add the coated crab to the oil. Fry until the crab legs begin to turn orange and the cornstarch coating is translucent, about 2 minutes. Meanwhile, transfer the crab pieces on the plate to the colander. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cornstarch, toss to coat and set aside. Wash your hands, then use a slotted spoon or spider to transfer the fried crab pieces to a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat with remaining crab.
• Remove all but 3 tablespoons of oil from the wok and reduce the heat to medium high. Add the garlic, ginger and scallion whites. Gently stir-fry until the garlic and ginger are golden brown and the scallion whites soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the claws and all of the crab pieces and toss with a wooden spoon or metal spoon. Add the Shaoxing wine and cook until reduced slightly, about 15 seconds. Add the oyster sauce mixture, scallion greens and 1/2 cup water. Toss again until well combined. Place the reserved crab top shells, hard side-up, on top in the wok and cover. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the crab is vibrant orange and fully cooked through, about 8 minutes (see Cook's Note).
• Meanwhile, mix the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch with 1 1/2 teaspoons water in a small bowl. Remove the lid and drizzle the slurry on the crab. Toss again, increase the heat and bring to a full boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes.
• Transfer to a platter and serve warm with white rice.

Steps:

• If using live crabs, pour water in a large pot to a depth of 1 1/2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, add crabs, turn heat to medium-high, cover and steam until crabs are bright orange-red and all the blue-green color is gone, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat and rinse under cold running water. (If using precooked crabs, skip to Step 2.)
• Clean the crabs: Grasp the top shell at the front, pull it away from the body and discard it. Turn the crab over, pry off the triangular apron and discard it, along with the spongy white gills. Grab the legs and claws close to the body, twist them off, and crack the claws lightly with a hammer. Discard the legs (or, if you are a crab fanatic, suck the meat out of them). You want to end up with a body and 2 claws, including knuckles, from each crab. Snap the body in half, using a chef's knife to cut through the shell if necessary.
• In a large sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil over high heat until it just begins to smoke. Add half the crab bodies and claws and sauté, tossing frequently with your tongs, for about 3 minutes. Add half of each of the remaining ingredients, except the salt and black pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute more.
• Remove everything from pan, add remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and repeat with remaining crabs and ingredients. Season with salt and black pepper. Serve warm or room temperature, with nutcrackers and picks.

Steps:

• Bring 1 1/2 inches water to a boil in pot. Add cilantro stems, then carefully add half of crabs using tongs and return to a boil. Cook, covered with lid, 8 minutes (for 1/4-pound crabs) to 10 minutes (for 1/3-pound crabs) from time they enter water. (Break shell of 1 claw to check for doneness; crabmeat should be opaque.) Transfer crabs with long-handled tongs to a large platter, reserving cooking liquid in pot, and keep warm, loosely covered with foil. Cook remaining crabs in same manner.
• While crabs cook, stir together ginger (to taste), soy sauce, sugar, water, vinegar, and salt in a small bowl until sugar and salt are dissolved.
• If necessary, dip crabs in cooking liquid to remove any external residue, then transfer to another large platter. Serve crabs hot, with dipping sauce.
• *We recommend Gold Plum brand, available at Asian markets and Kam Man Food Products (212-571-0330).