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!
