Oh, so cute, amirite?! We had some delicious seafood in mind, delicious after our recent trip to Chaoshan 潮汕 where we feasted on, among other things, marinated raw seafood of all kinds, oh my, so good. (We’re still writing about that amazing experience, so stay tuned.) We’ve been thinking a lot about delicious seafood lately.
This is what started it all, oh look at this beautiful blue flowered crab 藍花蟹. Isn’t it just the coolest? We found it at the supermarket, late at night, with a very low price to sell it quickly. Whoopee, love us a fish deal!
For the best and freshest deals on a regular basis, haunt your local wet market for grumpy deals.
Once you have the crab it’s time to prepare the other half of the crab congee: the congee! We will need rice, a little water and a little oil to make the basic rice porridge. Oops, looks like it’s time to stock up on rice, lol!
Add the rice, water and a drizzle of oil to help ensure the rice doesn’t boil in the pot. Cook over low heat, stirring, until the rice is on the verge of “blooming”, that is, it has absorbed water to the point of being swollen and on the verge of falling apart. It’s then time to add the crab and pickled vegetables. Boil the crabs until the color turns bright orange.
Note that authentic Chaoshan congee is watery! Unlike traditional Cantonese congee 粥 which is thick and creamy, it is more like Chinese rice soup 泡飯, soft cooked rice swimming in a comforting starchy liquid. If your congee gets thick, add more water!
Once the congee is finished, pour it into serving bowls, adding a little crab to each bowl. Add the final aromatic touch by adding three vegetables: coriander, Chinese celery and spring onion. Note that Chinese celery 芹菜, the one in the center of the photo above, is not the same as regular celery. It is also known as leaf celery or Nan Ling celery and has a much more intense celery flavor and a light, crunchy bite.
Each of these flavors will add its own distinct herbaceous touch, highlighting the fresh marine sweetness of the crab.
Whoowee! This crab congee is definitely a showstopper! Bright orange crab swimming lazily in creamy rice congee, enriched with fresh vegetables. Oh and so delicious to boot! Try it and let us know if it’s CRABBY enough for you!
Chaoshan porridge casserole
(serves 4) Preparation time: 5 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
2 blue flower crabs, blue flower crabs
1 teaspoon of oil
8 cups of water
salt, if necessary
2 springs of coriander
1 sprig of Chinese celery, celery
1 sprig of spring onion
Prepare the crabs: Rinse the crab, scrubbing with a toothbrush if necessary. Remove the shell from the body by inserting your fingers under the shell on the side opposite your eyes. You should be able to grasp and separate the shell and body. Remove the greenish gray gills and discard them. Unscrew the crab claws. Use a cracker tool or something heavy to break the claws slightly. Use a cleaver to cut the body into quarters, leaving the legs attached to the body.
Prepare pickled vegetables: Taste a piece of pickled vegetable to check the salt level. It should be salty enough to flavor the congee. If you think the salinity is excessive you can immerse them in water to remove some of the salt. (This control is because different brands of pickled vegetables may have different salt levels.) Chop the pickled vegetable and set aside.
Prepare the aromatics: Rinse and dry the coriander, Chinese celery and spring onion. Coarsely chop the coriander and celery, including the leaves. Cut the spring onions into slices.
Boil the congee: Add the water, rice and oil to a large, deep pot. When the water boils, lower the heat to low and let it cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice begins to break down. Add crab and pickled vegetables and cook another 5 minutes or until crab is bright orange and rice is just broken down. If the congee is too thick, add boiling water to adjust the desired amount of wateriness. Test the congee and add extra salt (or soy sauce) if necessary.
Serve the congee: Divide crab body and legs equally among 4 bowls. Place the congee on the crabs. Top two bowls with crab shells. Sprinkle the flavorings over the congee. Serve hot and crunchy!!
