Ingredients

The following ingredients have 4 Servings
  • 2 crabs (live Asian flower crabs (Hua Xie) female hard shell crabs with lots of roe are best.)
  • 500 grams Chinese New Year Cakes
  • 1-2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1.5 inch ginger (knob of ginger cut into thin julienned slivers. (Do not mince or it will be too strong a flavor in the dish) )
  • 2 cloves garlic (peeled and minced)
  • 3 green onions
  • 1/2 cup rice wine (shao xing) (or cooking sherry)
  • 1.5 tbsp tamari (soy) sauce
  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 cup water
  • 3 tsp sugar

Instruction

  • Ask your fish monger to quarter the crab and remove the lungs. Alternatively if you bring home a live crab, then place crab in lots of ice to help sedate the crab before stunning, quartering the crab and removing the lungs and main shell (called the carapace) Keep the main shell (carapace) whole but quarter the leg sections.
  • Rinse your Sticky Chinese New Year rice cakes. Do not soak or otherwise they get too sticky. Set aside.
  • Dip the ends of the cut crab in cornstarch. this helps prevent the meat from falling out during the cooking process and also helps thicken the sauce.
  • Place oil in wok and add ginger, garlic and the white end of the green onion (bash the white parts of the green onion with the back of clever) and fry until aromatic. Add all of your crab quarters, main top shell and legs and stir fry for 3-4 minutes or until crab shells turn red.
  • Add the Shaoxing wine, Tamari (light soy sauce) and dark soy sauce to taste, sugar, rice cakes and water. Stir fry for 1 minute and then cover for about 2 additional minutes or until rice cakes are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.
  • Add the green part of the scallions and stir into mixture, adjust seasonings as needed and serve. Enjoy!