Regarding Chiu Chow cold crab:
It appears there are multiple ways to do this dish. The key is in the approach and despite it being, well, a cooked crab served cold, techique, preparation, and sourcing are still key to the end results. You want a juicy vibrant fatty meaty natural tasting cold crab that’s refreshing, not the super cold dried out over boiled stuff from supermarkets or tourist traps.
First the varietal is important, same for season (which determines the size and fat content). Original South China Sea or off the waters of Hong Kong blue crabs (they call flower crabs over there) still yield the best original flavor and our American crabs won’t come close. US$200 to $300 for a large cold crab at a well known establishment over there isn’t a surprise. The cost of Hayatomakase!
Next is putting the live crabs in cold storage to numb them, then kill them quickly (that’s the key). One other approach could be to inject the crabs and numb them with say Chinese wine (“rose essence” for example) prior to steaming. A fusion version of White Burgundy injection? Lol… maybe undiluted sake is better.
If instant Mortal Kombat “finish him” killing…think of Japanese fishermen and vendors doing ikijime to retain freshness and flavor. One approach is to take a chopstick and ahem… jam it right up the crab’s mouth. Then open up the crab at the bottom and clean out its organs.
Steam, and rotate the crab to keep from the crab losing too much fat and natural juices.
Allow the crab to come down to room temperature and chill it in the refrigerator. Duration might be key here as well. Or the shortcut is to immerse in ice.
Dip sauce should traditionally be black vinegar and ginger, some do other variations. There may be some salt involved in the crab as well.
Maybe these are the reasons why I don’t really try this prep with Dungies here and just go for other stir fry or steamed preparations that work better with American crabs.
