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Home » District » Songjiang

The delights of hairy crab harvested at the district’s doorstep

By Tan Weiyun | November 10, 2015, Tuesday | Print Edition

THE 10-month wait is ended. Get on your mark, get set, go! It’s hairy crab season. Eating the meat, roe and gao of the celebrated freshwater crustaceans has become a rite of late autumn for nearly every Shanghai household.

The golden time to serve hairy crab is from the end of October to the end of November when the cold northwest wind blows, the crab roe becomes rich and the meat turns firm and sweet.
Da zha xie, or hairy crabs, are traditionally washed down with a yellow wine such as Shaoxing rice wine.

The best most popular crustaceans are the Yangcheng Lake hairy crab, the Rolls Royce of the freshwater crab world. They are harvested from the lake northeast of Suzhou in Jiangsu Province. Crabs from the eastern part of the lake are said to be the best.

However, at the source of the Huangpu River in the Songjiang District, Shanghai-grown hairy crabs are giving their Yangcheng Lake rivals a run for their money.

Located on the upper reaches of the river, which is blessed with rich aquatic plant life and clean water, Songjiang’s Maogang Town boasts Shanghai’s largest hairy crab center.

Last month, local farmers spread their nets and harvested the first of this autumn’s crop of crab. Compared with last year, the first-catch day was up to 10 days later due to heavier-than-usual summer rain and cooler weather.

Songjiang crabs may be more expensive this year, they are still big and luscious. Each male reaches up to 200 grams, while the females weigh in at more than 150 grams.

The Huangpu River hairy crab, once popular in Shanghai, fell into decline in the 1980s because of pollution. In recent years, aquaculture experts have introduced new, eco-green cultivation techniques to re-breed the species in Songjiang.

With a green back, white belly, golden pincers and yellow hairs, the Huangpu River crab features tender meat and rich crab roe with a slight, natural sweet flavor.

To rebuild an ecological habitat for the hairy crab was no easy job. About 11 years ago, hairy crab breeding expert Zhang Youliang established a special team under the auspices of Songjiang’s agricultural committee. The team became the first in Shanghai to breed Huangpu crab of high quality and size.

Wetlands and ponds were carefully constructed and breeding of species was selective.

Experts from the Shanghai Ocean University and the Shanghai Aquatic Products Research Center chose the Jianghai 21 species as its preferred breeder. After 12 years and five generations, the species regained the long legs and sharp frontal teeth exhibited by traditional Yangtze River crab 20 years ago.

Water is the key to breeding quality hairy crabs. The experts planted different types of water grasses, creating a three-tier plant environment to help purify the environment and provide food for aquatic creatures.

Clean water from the Huangpu River’s water protection zone was purified then channeled into the crab grounds. The crab ponds imitated nature’s tidal phenomena, and the water was added with oxygen according to different seasons.

Water is the key

Every 667 square meters water area breeds about 550-600 crabs. With enough living space, each crab is supplied with adequate nutrition and oxygen.

Young crab feed on freshwater snails. As they mature, fish are added to their daily diet, supplemented sometimes with corn.

Due to this year’s low temperatures and heavy rainfall, water levels in rivers and lakes are high, shrinking China’s hairy crab production. With consumer demand undiminished, crab prices this season are expected to rise.

However, the specially nurtured Songjiang crab aren’t expected to be as heavily impacted. The harvest this year is expected to increase 20 percent to about 100,000 kilograms.

For Songjiang locals, breeding hairy crabs is a lucrative business.

For fisherman Wu Baogen, who started breeding in 2010, the busiest season is September and October. He opened a family-style bistro in Xinbang Town to serve crab to eager customers.

His restaurant has become known for its variety of crab-cooking methods.

“We have steamed, sautéed and red-braised hairy crab,” he said. “Many of my customers are patrons who have been coming here for years.”

Wu said some of his crab are as big as 300 grams this year. Since the central government’s crackdown on corruption and ostentatious lifestyles, bulk orders for crab from government agencies and state-owned companies have declined. That has reduced prices and provided more crab for individual consumers.

A crab banquet is Songjiang gourmet Xu Yiyi’s annual ritual. She and her family used to drive two hours to Yangcheng Lake for crab feasts, but this year she has decided to stay home and choose Songjiang-grown hairy crab.

She recalled that the price in Yangcheng last year was 70 yuan for a pair of crab, each weighing from 150-200 grams.

“I’ve heard that this year’s production is smaller, so I would guess the price might go up to 100 yuan for a pair,” she said.

Chef Zhang Luohua told Shanghai Daily that the taste of a hairy crab is not determined by its size. “If the crab is too big, the meat won’t be tender,” he said. “But it would be a good gift choice.”

Eating hairy crab is a centuries-old tradition in China.

“It should not become a way of showing off one’s wealth,” said Qian Mingguang, deputy director of the Songjiang History and Cultures Study Center. “In the old days, hairy crab was a popular dish enjoyed by everyone.”

The crab were plentiful, living in rivers, canals, ponds and wetlands. They were easily caught.

“In the 1900s in Shanghai, poor families often survived on hairy crab because it was the only food source they could easily obtain,” Qian said. “Food should be just food, not a means of showing off.”

Songjiang


 

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