'Tis the Season... for Hairy Crab!

Both my parents are Shanghainese so traditions such as hairy crab feasts at home are rooted deep. In fact, I'll go as far to say that I have never eaten hairy crabs outside of a home environment! 

Autumn (October and November) is prime time to dig into these little critters- formally known as 'mitten crabs' or 'dai jap hai' in Cantonese and generally sourced from the Yangcheng (陽澄湖) and Taihu (太湖) Lakes. 

My mother is quite loyal to buying her crabs from Wah Kee Foods - 460 Lockhart Rd, Causeway Bay, Tel: 2836 6411. The crabs can come as cheap as $30 each and go up $300. For the full experience and decent size, I wouldn't recommend anything less than $130 per crab. 

The 3 key things to look for when buying your crabs are: 

1) Clear, black, and responsive eyes - yes, go ahead and give them a poke! 

2) A white, fat belly - here you will also determine the gender of your crab. Female crabs are in the prime early in their season and have abundant orange, chewier roe. Male crabs are the literal kings of the crops, with the runny sweet roe highly coveted.

3) Bubbling/frothing and giving you an angry glare is generally a good sign!

A good store will be able to guide you well in your selection. They will also provide you with all the condiments needed to cook and serve your crabs! This will include:

• Perilla leaf to place with the crabs while steaming - both are meant to neutralise the 'cooling' aka 'Yin' effect of the crabs 
• Black Zhejiang rice vinegar and brown sugar, to be mixed with finely minced ginger to use as dipping sauce. A general ratio is 1/4 cup vinegar to 1 tablespoon brown sugar and 1 teaspoon minced ginger.

Find instructions for steaming and eating the crabs after the jump!

Now for the steps for steaming the crabs...

1. Give the crabs a good brushing under a running tap to ensure no residual dirt is caught in the hair and crevasses (do not remove the straw ties yet lest you feel like setting these buggers running around your kitchen counter and onto the floor! - Yes, I have in fact been responsible for this when I was a child.)
2. Boil water in a wok and place in the Perilla leaf
3. Place crabs on a steaming rack or traditional bamboo steamer belly-up for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of the crab. 
4. The crab will turn a bright orange-red when ready

Onto the important part... Eating the crab! It may seem intimidating at first, but with a quick tutorial you'll be an expert in no time. 

1. Twist off the legs and set aside
2. Pull back the 'tab' on the abdomen of the crab and snap off. Suck at the bottom for some lovely roe!
3. Open the top carapace of the crab (the big shell) - most easily done from the hinge on the back instead of lifting up between the eyes. Enjoy the contents of the shell! I like to pour in some vinegar before digging in.
4. Remove the grey lung sacs and white organs - these are inedible. Also carefully dig out the small grey 'heart' that sits slightly buried at the center. Click here for a visual guide on the bits to remove.
5. Break the body in half. Dip them into vinegar and suck on both sides for a wonderful mix of roe and meat! You can then pick at the meat remaining.
6. Snip the legs before their joints and push the meat out with a tapered stick. 
7. With the help of some tools, crack open the claws to reveal more white meat.

A hairy crab meal is best paired with Hua Diao wine from Shaoxing of a 10 year vintage and above (lower ones are used for cooking with). This is usually served with a dried plum in small shot-sized cups and slowly sipped at. The wine is sold from the crab stores and they will also provide the plums!

For accompanying dishes, I keep it simple with salted duck eggs, century eggs, and congee. 

I also always finish the meal hot ginger tea to balance out the 'cooling' effect of the crabs, simply made by boiling ginger with brown sugar.

For places to eat and buy hairy crabs in Hong Kong, check out this Time Out article.

Happy Hairy Crab season!