Prose: Drunken crab drunk in the autumn wind

Lu Guanjing

As the saying goes, "the autumn wind rises, the crab feet itch; the chrysanthemum blossoms, smell the crabs come", into October also entered the good season of eating crabs, the orange crab yellow, white jade-like grease paste, tender crab meat, color and fragrance are wonderful.

When I was a child, my family lived in the county seat, a small river ran through the city, and every autumn, my father would carry a crab basket on my back and take me to the river to catch crabs. My father had three treasures to catch crabs - shovels, wires and gloves, and with the help of these tools, my father could always pull out many huge river crabs from the crab hole, and I could only "pick" some small river crabs from under the stones.

As the sun set, my father took my hand and returned with a crab basket full of river crabs, at which time my mother had already fried the dishes for my father, and of course, there was a bottle of two pots for my father to enjoy. When we got home, my mother selected the small river crabs that were washed and steamed and immediately served to the table, and as for the river crabs with bright colors and strong claws, they must be full of fat, and my mother wanted to make them into drunken crabs, which was the favorite of my alcoholic father in autumn.

Making drunken crabs takes some time and effort. The mother first washed the river crab in the water for two to three days, and changed the water every day, in order to remove the dirt in the crab's body, and then the mother took the river crab out of the bucket, scraped off the fluff on the claws one by one, put it into a special jar, and slowly poured yellow wine to spread over the crab body. The river crabs that have been in the salt water for a long time are extremely thirsty, and then they rush to drink this world's best wine until they are drunk. The mother is very particular about the yellow wine used for drunken crabs, and the choice is pure Shaoxing flower carving wine (commonly known as daughter red), the mother says that the river crab is cool, and the flower carving wine has the effect of warming the stomach, and the combination of the two is the best partner. The river crab soaked in rice wine for three days and could not wake up again, and then the mother poured into the jar with salt, sugar, ginger shreds, garlic paste, green onions, peppercorns, cinnamon, star anise and other raw materials made of "drunken liquid", and poured into the cover of sorghum wine, sorghum wine must be added just right, adding more crab meat will have a bitter taste. Finally, the mother sealed the altar with kraft paper and tied it firmly with a thin rope, and it could be opened and eaten in about a week.

This week was difficult for the hungry father, who would walk around in front of the jar for a while every day, monkey anxious like a child, until one day the mother announced "kaifeng", the father excitedly tore open the seal and fished out the drunken crab. Drunken crabs are yellowed in color and full of wine aromas, so they can be steamed in a steamer for ten minutes. The drunken crab is tender in the mouth, the mellow aroma of wine is also fresh, sweet and spicy, the aftertaste is long, my father and I are happy to eat, and my mother's face also shows a smile, which is happier than eating drunken crab.

Now it's the season when crabs are on the market, my father no longer has to go to the river to catch crabs, there are many varieties of crabs in the supermarket, big, my mother still makes her drunken crabs for me and my father every autumn, this golden autumn we can feast again!

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