Hele crab, clear-steamed mangrove crab

As tradition built it

Serves 2 to 4. 30 minutes.

Ingredients

• 2 live mangrove crabs (Scylla species), scrubbed
• enough not to cover the crabs water, not covering the crabs
• a small handful of each salt, ginger slices, spring onion

For the dip

• to taste garlic, ginger, salt, citrus juice, sugar and vinegar

Method

1. Place the live, scrubbed crabs in a wide pan with water that does not fully cover them, adding salt, ginger slices and spring onion.
2. Cover and steam over high heat for around 15 minutes.
3. Remove the gills, then briefly sear the shell over an open flame to dry it and intensify its colour.
4. Wipe the shell clean, halve the crab to expose the roe, and cut into serving pieces.
5. Serve with a dip of garlic, ginger, salt, citrus juice and a little sugar and vinegar.

Notes

Note on naming. This dish is sometimes given in English as "Hainan clear pepper crab." No Chinese-language source consulted for this chapter used a pepper-based method as Hele crab's defining preparation; the English name appears to be a loose or inaccurate translation, likely a conflation with 清蒸, clear-steamed, and this chapter does not repeat it as an alternate name for the dish.

What a modern chef changes

The steam, made exact; the crab itself untouched.

Method

1. Weigh the crabs and time the steam by weight rather than a fixed 15 minutes, using the same by-weight logic as Rung 2's fish steaming.
2. Rest briefly under the lid after steaming, letting residual heat finish the very last of the cooking without overcooking the delicate leg meat.
3. Reduce the dip's citrus and vinegar in a small pan just to a light syrup consistency before serving, giving it more body against the crab's rich roe without changing its essential balance.