I became mesmerized
by the many ways that Chinese cooks turned crab into something remarkable.
Before moving to Asia, I grew up near San Francisco, and as a result, my idea of
crab were those steamed, cold Dungeness behemoths that always tasted
sweetly of the sea. Needing little adornment (although restaurants seemed bound
by law to offer wedges of lemon alongside bowls of mayo or tartar sauce, melted butter, and
cocktail sauce), this was the food of the gods as far as I was concerned, and
all I needed as a teenager was a basket of the local sourdough bread and a pile
of napkins to complete my happiness.
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| Ginger, shallots, dried shrimp |
But the Chinese way with
crabs was completely different. First off, the crabs were smaller and had
thinner shells. This meant (second point:) that they were usually whacked apart
with cleavers and then stir-fried with seasonings. And as I tucked into, say,
the luscious Taiwanese version that was draped with sliced fried onions and
omelet blankets, I had to concede that they were on to something there.
In Hong Kong, though,
crabs are dealt with completely differently. Oftentimes the crab is served more
or less whole so that it stares at you from a lake of silky, savory custard, or
tiny crabs are deep-fried in a batter, their paper-like shells more like those
of fried shrimp than anything else. Others were reminiscent of the genius of
cooks from the Pearl River Delta, with shards of shelled crab nestled in soft
pillows made from milk.
One of my favorites,
though, has to be this truly inspired dish. This is all about
the flavor of crab, and the only things that are added are aromatics that will
highlight the sweetness of the meat and the silky strands of cellophane noodles
that suck up every drop of juice. In fact, the only difficult thing about
making this dish is ensuring that the cellophane noodles are prepared properly
(follow the instructions to the letter and you will be more than halfway home),
because these are notorious for dissolving into gummy clumps if not proffered
sufficient respect.
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| Taiwanese fensi soaking |
In this recipe, I've wandered slightly from the traditional recipe by shelling half of the crabmeat.
What this does is allow more of the crab flavor to infiltrate the noodles, and
I have to tell you, the noodles are The Best Part of this dish.
Since it is now winter
and I am still not too far from San Francisco, I've used the best local crabs
there ever will be: my beloved Dungeness. And because these are only sold
already cooked, I've made allowances for that in this recipe. However, if you
are lucky enough to have your own local crabs available still live and kicking,
I have included instructions on how to use those, too.
Savory crab and cellophane noodles
Pángxiè fěnsī bào
Hong Kong, Guangdong
Pángxiè fěnsī bào
Hong Kong, Guangdong
Serves 2 to 6 (either as a main dish or as one of many)
4 bundles cellophane noodles (aka mung noodles or fensi)
Warm filtered water
2 tablespoons whole dried shrimp
2 pounds cooked Dungeness crab legs (the legs of 2 crabs, or just use 1 whole
crab)
10 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil, divided
2 large shallots, trimmed and thinly sliced (about ½ cup)
6 thin slices fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped (about ¼ cup)
2 green onions, white and green parts kept separate, trimmed and finely
chopped
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons regular soy sauce
2 teaspoons sweet soy sauce (tián
jiàngyóu, or 2 teaspoons soy sauce with a bit of sugar to taste)
¼ cup Shaoxing rice wine
Freshly ground black pepper
1. First, soak the
cellophane noodles in warm water for 10 minutes. Then rinse them in a colander
under cold tap water to immediately stop the noodles from softening any
further. Shake all of the water off the noodles and them dump them onto a clean
tea towel. Lightly pat the noodles all over to get rid of the rest of the
moisture and let them sit uncovered while you prepare the other ingredients. (This step is the most important because it ensures that the
noodles will have the right texture.)
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| Now supple & translucent |
2. Rinse the dried shrimp
well, cover them with hot tap water, and let them soak until soft. Then, drain
the shrimp and chop them finely.
3. If you are using only
crab legs, separate the large lower (and middle, if needed) sections from the
rest of the legs so that the pieces are easy to stir-fry. Keep the meatier
sections whole and work over a bowl while you remove the meat from the
scrawnier pieces, discarding their shells (see Tips). You should end up with about half of
the crab legs whole and the other half shelled. (If you are using a whole crab,
you can merely separate the legs into manageable lengths and completely remove
all of the shell and cartilage from the body, which will also leave you with
about half of the crab in a shell and half shelled. Keep the large crab shell intact, if you like, to decorate the final dish.) Place the crab that is
still in its shell in a heatproof dish and steam this over high heat for 5
minutes.
4. Prep the shallots,
ginger, and onions, and then add them to the chopped dried shrimp. Mix the soy
sauce, sweet soy sauce, rice wine, and pepper in small bowl. Cut the cellophane
noodles into pieces approximately 2 inches long. Have a medium sandpot or
casserole ready for serving.
5. Pour half of the oil
into a wok, heat it over medium-high, and add the shallot mixture. Fry this
until it starts to brown. Lower the heat to medium, add the rest of the oil
plus the sesame oil, and when the oil is hot, toss in the chopped noodles.
Stir-fry the noodles carefully, being sure to scrape up any that stick to the
bottom of the wok; if needed, add a bit more oil. Fry the noodles for about 2
or 3 minutes, or until they start to become transparent. Add the crabmeat and the crab in its shell plus half of the seasonings; toss these together until the noodles have
absorbed all of the sauce, and then add the rest. Toss these a bit longer,
taste and adjust the seasoning, and sprinkle the crab with the onion greens.
Toss once more and pour this into the prepared sandpot or casserole. Serve hot.
Tips
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| Springy & white when dry |
As you check over the Dungeness crab legs, use the butt of your knife to crack any pieces that are still solid; your diners will thank you. I tend to use a 3-inch paring knife to wiggle the meat out of the legs, as this also allows me to work my way into the joints and scoop out every last bit of fat and meat. Working over a bowl preserves
all of the juices and tiny flakes while you dig away.
If you are using smaller,
live crabs, use the same weight of crabs as suggested here. Kill and clean the
crabs, and if the shells are around 3 inches across, use a cleaver to chop the
crabs into quarters, so that each piece has a quarter of the shell and two
legs.
Raw crabs need to first
have all cut edges (but not the shells) dusted with flour, and then these cut
edges are fried to keep the meat from drying up. Once the cut edges are
browned, continue to fry the crabs until they have turned completely pink.
Remove them and then proceed to Step 4, after doing Steps 1 and 2 first, of
course.
Once you've mastered this
dish, you will probably want to play with the seasonings a bit, and that is
exactly the way to go here. Add ginger or chilies, use curry powder… anything
is permitted here. Just make sure that you don’t drown out the flavor of the
crab.
