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Home » City specials » Hangzhou

T’is the season to luxuriate in hairy crab cuisine

By Wu Huixin | October 9, 2014, Thursday | Print Edition

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THE hairy crab, like the carp when it first spread to America, is regarded as an invasive species that threatens native Western fish populations, a designation that detracts from its allure to foreigners.

In China, people consider the hairy crab a delicacy and have created varied dishes around it, with spicy, sour or sweet tastes due to different local cuisines around the country.

In fact, Chinese people have eaten hairy crabs for more than 5,000 years. Crab shells excavated from the centuries-old Liangzhu Culture Relic Site in Yuhang District of Hangzhou prove Chinese ancestors took the gifts given by nature as a food as early as the Neolithic Period.

Now is the harvest season for hairy crabs as they reach peak of delectability. Expats who have never sampled hairy crab can explore some dishes in Hangzhou, as the city boasts a number of restaurants that serve hairy crab added to soups and porridges or cooked with other foods.

In addition to the traditional hairy crab, other crustaceans like flower crab and mud crab are also finding favor with diners.

Shanghai Daily breaks down two classic, common hairy crab dishes along with two other crustacean favorites and finds good restaurants in which to savor them.

Tofu with crab roe

The crab roe is considered by foodies as the tastiest part of a female hairy crab. It makes up nearly a third of the crab’s total weight. The taste and texture of crab varies based on the crab farming areas. Yangcheng Lake hairy crab is considered the best quality.

Since Yangcheng hairy crab is upscale and pricy, some Hangzhou restaurants choose South Lake crabs raised mainly in the Hangzhou-Jiaxing-Huzhou area as the source of crab roe.

In autumn, the crab roe begins to turn orange and has a creamy, butter-like flavor. Chefs take out the roe and cook it with tofu. The two flavors compliment with each other well and leave a clean feeling.

 

Where to eat: Ling Long Town

Address: 198 Nanshan Rd

Tel: (0571) 8702-5558

Crab fermented with orange

Dissecting the crustacean and pulling out the meat is an annoying procedure while eating hairy crabs. Smart chefs of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) figured out a novel way to make crab dishes — steam crab meat with orange pulp in a hollowed-out orange.

In the Southern Song Dynasty when Hangzhou was the capital of China, freshly caught seafood and freshwater fish were sent to the imperial court to serve the royal family. It is said that’s how hairy crab cuisine headed onto the imperial banquet menu.

The tender crab meat is picked out first to be mixed with creamy roe, and then steamed with orange flesh. The dish tastes sweet at first, then a bit sour before turning sweet again.

Over time, the recipe has improved and the stuffing now contains crab, pork, water chestnuts and egg.

 

Where to eat: Zhiweiguan Restaurant

Address: No. 10, Yanggong Causeway

Tel: (0571) 8797-1913

Crab congee

Mud crab is found mainly in estuaries of Asia and Australia and contains large amounts of buttery roe. One of the most common ways to cook it is to simmer it with congee.

In Chinese cuisine, congee is usually simmered for a long time to condense the rice. The congee is cooked and served in a crockery pot to enhance the texture and flavor, because these pots are chemically inert, meaning they do not leech any chemicals into the water even at high temperatures. The broth thus remains pure — quite an advantage that metal cookware does not have.

The orange roe and its yellow butter are nicely melted in the white congee, giving the dish a golden color. The mellow congee is combined with the salty crab meat and features a smooth and silky texture.

 

Where to eat: Chao Dong Dong Restaurant

Address: 27 Pingfeng St

Tel: (0571) 8807-5277

Curry crab

The most common crab variety to make this dish is the portunidae. However, Chinese people called it “flower crab” because of the flower-like pattern of red-and-black stripes on its shell.

This traditional Thai cuisine has been introduced to Hangzhou in recent years along with the opening of a batch of Thai restaurants.

It is better to wrap the flower crab with a layer of starch before stirring it. When it turns yellow, add curry, onion, coconut milk and other ingredients. Topping it with shredded green vegetable will make it look more appetizing and mouth-watering.

 

Where to eat: Asia Land Restaurant

Address: 701 Fuchun Rd

Tel: (0571) 8970-5551

Hangzhou


 

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