Wok Fried Crab with Egg

I bought a live crab with plans to wok fry it and then got lazy.  Too much work I did not feel like doing.  Work to cook it, work to eat it and not a favorite of the family because of the messiness of eating crab in its shell with a sauce coating it.  Growing up, my family would sometimes have a midnight snack once we got home after our restaurant closed for the night.  We would eat at our restaurant before cleaning and shutting it all down and then by the time we got home, it was hours later and we were hungry again.  Sometimes we would just have a crab, a bowl of rice and maybe some other little pickled vegetables and things.  It felt like such a treat to get to stay up that late until I had to wake up the next day.  So, it feels very much in my nature to dig every last bit of meat from the crab and enjoy the process and time it takes to do so.  Nothing goes to waste.


Sometimes, it's easier to put in the work up front and de-shell the crab for all.  Though it seems like more work, it somehow actually feels easier.  I sit leisurely at my kitchen counter, watch the chickens on my web cam waiting for another egg to be laid, and de-shell the crab.  
You could go heavier on the egg here, but I am using it just to barely coat the crab.  
Crab meat from 1 - 2lb crab, about 1 3/4 to 2 cups
2 Eggs beaten with 1 tbsp water
2 Scallions, finely sliced
Combine into a sauce:
1 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp mirin
2 tsp sugar

Place about 1 tbsp of oil in the wok over medium heat.  Add the scallions and fry until they are softened.  Then turn the heat up to medium high and gently toss the crab in, spreading it evenly over the wok.  Fry for about 30 seconds without disturbing and then pour the egg over top.  
Once the egg begins to solidify a bit, pour the sauce evenly over the egg and crab.  Then gently turn the mixture over.  You don't need to keep it whole, but just be gentle as you don't want to break up the crab meat too much.  I like to keep it in larger lump pieces.  Cook until the egg is just cooked through.  Serve immediately.

Comments

  1. I've always wanted to try to cook crab at home (vs buying it pre-cooked), but don't really know how... Can you tell me what type of crab you used, and how you cooked it? Thanks :-)

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  2. Hi Sherry, sorry about that. I should have included that.
    I used Dungeness crab. The way I like to cook it is kind of steaming it. I take a large pot and fill it with maybe just an inch or two of water and bring it to a boil. Then I place the crab in, back side down and keep the water on a low boil, cover the pot and cook for 14 minutes.
    After cooking, I run a little cold water over the crab and let it sit until it's cool enough to handle.
    To clean the crab, flip it on its back. On the underside, at the posterior of the crab, there a little flap, if you will. Remove that first which will then make it easier to pull the back off the crab. Once you have the back removed, carefully pull out all of the other internal parts rinsing with cool water, being careful not to rinse out the meat as well.
    Let me know if I can answer any other questions.
    Thanks,
    Mary

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