Tracing the origin of the drunken crayfish, we have to mention the breadth and profundity of Chinese food culture and the beautiful atmosphere of the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River. As early as the Southern Song Dynasty, the poet Lu You had a good sentence of "drunk and lying on the battlefield, a few people returned to fight in ancient times", although it does not directly describe food, but implies the indissoluble bond between wine and food. Crayfish has gradually become the darling of the table in modern times, especially in Jiangsu, Hubei and other places. The appearance of ice drunk crayfish is the ultimate pursuit of cool food in the hot summer, which skillfully combines the skills of traditional drunk crab and the deliciousness of crayfish to create a new summer food experience.
Cooking Steps:
**Main Material**:
- 1000 grams of fresh crayfish
- Huadiao wine 200ml
- Light soy sauce 50ml
- 30 grams of sugar
- 20 grams of ginger slices
- 20 grams of garlic cloves
- 10 grams of green peppercorns
- 3 star anise
- 5 dried chili peppers
1. Put the crayfish in clean water, add a little salt, let it sit for 2 hours to spit sand, and then carefully scrub the shell with a brush.
2. Add water to the pot, add ginger slices, a little cooking wine, add the lobster after the water boils, cook until the shell turns red, remove it after about 3 minutes, rinse with cold water to cool.
3. Take another pot, pour in Huadiao wine, light soy sauce, sugar, crushed garlic cloves, green peppercorns, star anise, dried chili pepper, and simmer until fragrant.
4. Put the chilled crayfish in the drunken sauce, make sure each one is well soaked, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours to allow them to absorb the flavor of the drunken juice thoroughly.
Tips:
- Wash the crayfish thoroughly to avoid sand residue affecting the taste.
- Blanch for too long to avoid the meat becoming old.
- Refrigerate and soak for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, but not more than 2 days to avoid affecting taste and food safety.
When a plate of chilled drunken crayfish is served, the bright red shell shimmers in the crystal juice, as if the summer sunset has fallen into the world. Gently peeling off the shell, the snow-white shrimp meat bounces out, the entrance is first faint wine aroma, then subtle sweetness and spiciness, and finally the deliciousness of the crayfish itself, layer by layer, straight to the heart. The cold touch and spicy stimulation are intertwined in the mouth, like a cool symphony of summer, which makes people want to stop.