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Steamed Crab With Chinkiang Vinegar and Ginger Recipe

Fiona Reilly
Steamed Crab With Chinkiang Vinegar and Ginger Recipe

Sweet crab meat is paired with a flavorful dipping sauce of ginger and vinegar. [Photograph: Fiona Reilly]

In Shanghai, the arrival of fall signals the start of the much-anticipated hairy crab season. These small crabs, with their hairy mittens, have a rich, sweet flesh and roe. Unfortunately, hairy crab are considered an environmental pest in the USA; instead, substitute any small fresh or saltwater crab. The richness and sweetness of crabmeat goes perfectly with a sweet-and-sour dipping sauce flavored with Chinkiang vinegar and ginger. This dish is part of our seven-course Mid-Autumn Festival feast.

Why It Works

  • A dipping sauce of sour Chinkiang vinegar balances the natural sweetness of the crabmeat.
  • Steaming the crabs in a two-tiered basket system makes cooks them quickly and efficiently.

    • Read more: How to Host a Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival Feast

    • Yield:Serves 4
    • Active time: 15 minutes
    • Total time:30 minutes

    Ingredients

    • 1 (2-inch) knob of ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks, divided
    • 2 ounces Chinkiang vinegar
    • 2 ounces rice vinegar
    • 2 teaspoons brown sugar
    • 4 small fresh or saltwater crabs
    • Shaoxing wine for drinking (optional)

    Directions

    1. 1.

      Divide ginger equally 4 ways and place into 4 small bowls.

    2. 2.

      Combine Chinkiang and rice vinegars with sugar in a small pan. Warm over low heat, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. Let cool. Meanwhile, bring 2 inches of water to a boil in a wok or a large pot. Once cool, divide vinegar sauce into the 4 bowls with ginger.

    3. 3.

      Clean crabs with a stiff-bristled brush under running water. If using a wok, place clean crabs shell-side down into two large bamboo steamer baskets, one over the other, and fit with lid. If using a Western-style pot, place crabs shell-side down in a standard steamer basket. Place steamer baskets over boiling water, cover if using a Western-style pot, and steam until crabs are cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.

    4. 4.

      Serve crabs warm with vinegar and ginger dipping sauce.

    This Recipe Appears In
    How to Host a Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival Feast

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    Fiona Reilly Contributor

    Fiona Reilly is a xiao long bao expert and street food tragic who divides her time between Shanghai and Australia, trawling the streets for good eats and great stories for local and international publications, as well as her award-winning blog ‘Life on Nanchang Lu.'

    She has travelled China top to bottom and end to end, eating all the way, including an epic six-month food discovery voyage around China in an RV, a mode of travel entirely novel to the world's most populous nation.

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