China Aquatic Products Channel reported that the hairy crab got its name from what? Hairy crabs and siblings? How to eat hairy crab in the eyes of gourmets? How to pick a hairy crab tied up? A detailed account of the past and present lives of hairy crabs.
At this time of year, the people of the whole country open the crab eating mode, and thousands of mouths are impatiently waiting for the lake to open. Whether you are addicted or not, it seems that if you don't eat a bite of hairy crab or the delicious food associated with it, this year will feel a little broken.
When it comes to eating crabs, it has to be mentioned that Suzhou people, on eating crabs, it is estimated that no one can beat Suzhou people, you can also say that the people of the postal area. If you eat crab in Suzhou and see someone helping others to break crabs, it must be a foreigner, and it will be despised by the locals. In the suzhou people's crab eating rules, crabs must be self-contained! oneself! dismantle!
However, whether it is Suzhou people or outsiders, Suzhou's hairy crab, its delicious people know it. As a delicacy from the postal zone that can be ranked on the list of "best tastes in the world", it has really conquered all kinds of diners from the south to the north.
People who eat crabs often have, but people who really understand hairy crabs do not often have, do not believe? Test you: Where does the name of the hairy crab come from?
As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, there were many crabs in the Wuyue area (where Suzhou Yangcheng Lake is located), as evidenced by the "rice crabs are not left behind" in the "Chinese". They survive in the rice fields and can be said to be the ancestors of today's hairy crabs. It's just that no one ate it at that time, it is not yet known.
In the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Luoyang Jialan Chronicle recorded the content of eating crabs for people living in the Wuyue area, "sipping on the soup, sipping on crab yellow", and it was unimaginable that people at that time had mastered the advanced way of eating crab yellow, which was how much they knew how to enjoy life and food. In the Tang and Song dynasties, the people in the Wuyue area ate crabs even more debauchery, they not only ate, but also praised it after eating, which can be said to have single-handedly pushed hairy crabs into Internet celebrities. The royal family of the Song Dynasty could not help but be hungry, and this Suzhou crab entered the palace as a tribute. More pompous is the Ming and Qing dynasties, especially in the Qing Dynasty, there is a song "Holding the Claw Song", a sentence "Water and land treasures who crown the head, jianghuai crab for the kui" simply pushed it to the point of taste in the human world.
Relevant literature records show that the location of Yangcheng Lake is still a piece of land before the Song Dynasty. People at that time had neither heard of it nor seen it. It was not until the Song Dynasty that it appeared in the "Wuzhong Water Conservancy" and "Water Conservancy Book" because of the water conservancy project. After the completion of the lake, the surrounding rivers converged here, and slowly, it had its own ecological circle, and crabs gradually appeared.
It was not until the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty that there was the name of "Yangcheng Lake Crab", and the Daoguang years were praised in the "Yuanhe Weiting Zhi" with the description of "the largest person out of Yangcheng Lake, the shell is green, the foot is red, the name of the golden claw crab, the weight is Xu, the taste is the most satisfied", which may be the best time to really label the "Yangcheng Lake Hairy Crab".
Shi Jinmo, a gourmet hidden in the medical field and also a crab eater (a famous doctor in Beijing during the Republic of China), ate crabs almost all over the country, dividing crabs into six grades and twelve grades, the top three were lake crabs, river crabs and stream crabs, of which Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs ranked first in his mouth.
After the Republic of China, the value of hairy crabs in Yangcheng Lake has always been high and difficult. Thanks to the improvement of transportation, hairy crabs have been introduced to Shanghai, and even the whole country and abroad. Here I have to say that Yangcheng Lake can be famous in the world, and some of the credit belongs to Shanghai foodies, who have promoted the hairy crabs of Yangcheng Lake into a hegemon. However, in recent years, Taihu Crab, Wujiang Crab, Changshu Crab and other hairy crabs in various lakes have gradually become new Internet red crabs, sitting on good water quality and good environment to harvest their fans.
The "hairy crabs" born in various famous lakes are almost rumored to be a category of crabs, but hairy crabs are only a name called out by people, not a variety. Its origin is because in the past people will use a kind of bamboo utensils called "crabs" to catch crabs, which is also the earliest and most widely used tool, this tool is generally placed in the water, like "gate", at night through the lights to attract crabs to climb up the "bamboo gate" and catch, over time, these crabs are called "hairy crabs", and "big" nature is because they are heavy, so it is named "hairy crab".
However, there is also a theory that stems from a combination of dialects and cooking techniques. In the Wu language, the practice of boiling food in water or frying in a frying pan is called "zhá". The Song Dynasty's "Tokyo Dream Hualu" and the Qing Dynasty's "Qing Jia Lu" have related descriptions of "crabs", and later, the folk naturally called it "Big Crab", but because it is a dialect transliteration of strange characters, it is slowly passed on to "gate", so it got its name.
In any case, this "hairy crab" has nothing to do with the category, but with the way it is caught in life or the way it is eaten. Remind those who like to popularize science at the dinner table, and please avoid traveling on thunderstorms, more words will be lost.
In addition to the Chinese river crab, there are three main species of river crabs in China: Japanese river crabs, narrow-fronted river crabs, and straight-fronted river crabs (some people also call them Taiwan river crabs), their differences are generally in the claws, dorsal carapaces and ratchets. Among them, the Chinese river crab and the Japanese river crab are larger, the yield is higher, the meat is delicious, the economic value is large, and it is the main breeding species.
At this time of year, people in non-package postal areas inevitably want to turn over the crab buying strategies they have seen before, because the hairy crabs in different lakes and different production areas are really too entangled. Here we knock down the blackboard again, choose crabs, don't just recognize the production area, get the following skills is the real expert:
Look: The color of the shell is generally related to the living environment, the uniform color of the cyan back nail represents the good water quality, turn over to view, crab belly porcelain white shiny represents crawling in the sand rather than mud bottom, and the place where the living water and grass are more. Secondly, look at the gap between the end of the cephalothorax and the abdominal umbilicus, the wider it is, the higher the fullness of the fat, that is, there will be a lot of crab paste.
Touch: Hairy crabs are almost always tied up and sold, you can touch its eye sockets to determine if it is still alive. In addition, live crabs often spit bubbles all the time.
Weigh the human flesh manually, look at the crab of about the same size, and the heavier it is, the fuller it is.
Flip: Untie the rope, turn the crab up to the white belly, if it can quickly turn over and crawl, it represents a good vitality and health. But remember, only if you're sure you can catch it back...
In the eyes of some Suzhou people, eating crab has a "crab road", which is considered a literati and elegant, the process of eating is to enjoy slowly, and the sense of ceremony is very important. Eat crab with Suzhou people: Don't help others to remove crabs, so you may lose friends who can invite you to eat good crabs forever.
From the perspective of the method of eating hairy crabs, it is generally divided into two types of people, one is informal, directly started, how to eat such a "martial arts pie", and the other type is quite exquisite, exquisite eating "Wen Eat Pie". Since the Wu Eating Sect is disorderly and eats freely, so without discussion, today we will learn how to eat a crab like the Suzhou people in the Baotou District. Ask the old food around you for advice, eating crab in Suzhou, there are generally three exquisite operations:
Eat in season, eat all year round, then lose the taste of the real hairy crab, at the same time in this season to eat crab also pay attention to where to eat crab, Yangcheng Lake is famous, but now the crab in Taihu Lake is bigger, and the Wujiang crab in East Taihu Lake is also good. (Gentle tip: the steaming process can be added to the perilla leaves and ginger slices steamed together, or you can put nothing)
Yangcheng Lake is located in Suzhou, Shanghainese and Kunshan people eat in Bacheng in Huxi, Suzhou people eat in Weiting and Xiangcheng in Hudong, and lotus island is the winner. In 2011, the hairy crabs of Yangcheng Lake began to carry anti-counterfeiting mark logos (commonly known as "crab buckles", but many of them were also "bath crabs" put in the lake before listing, this year, many merchants even did not bother to bathe the crabs... You know. Therefore, it is most reliable to be able to eat fresh on the lake. (Tips quoted from "101 Chinese Food Tour")
For people who love crabs, eating crabs is a process of enjoyment, so the process is important. The point is: eat while hot. The second is the order of eating: crab yellow → crab paste→ crab meat, and finally crab feet. With a set of eight crabs, that is the master who will enjoy.
Crabs belong to the coldest things, and eating hairy crabs is indispensable to warm a pot of yellow wine, which can not only warm the stomach, but also help to entertain. Tea can be served with ginger tea to remove the cold. If you are more angry, you can imitate the fineness of the ancients and wash your hands with chrysanthemum soaking water.
The person who completes the above operations can give you a full score and give you the title of "Best Crab Wenqing". However, remember that the friends who eat crabs together are not martial arts, otherwise, when you get this title, the hairy crabs on the table are afraid that they have been eaten dry and wiped clean, haha.
This is because the carapace contains "astaxanthin" that is originally red, but it is displayed as a pigment protein after binding to the carapace, and it will turn red after heating or encountering alcohol.
This is because they breathe with gills in the water like fish, the water constantly enters the gills for gas exchange, and after leaving the water, due to the tense breathing, the air enters the gills, and mixes with the water to produce foam (sometimes black gastric juice is spit out). In fact, the white foam that can be seen in the mouth of the hairy crab indicates that its breathing activity is strong, which is a symbol of vitality and health!
Most crabs are like this, but not exactly. This is because their body width is greater than the body length, and they can go straight if they encounter a body that is larger than the body width or equal to the body width.
Crab paste is actually gonad, you know, the mother's ripe "orange-red", the male is milky white. Crab yellow is a liver and pancreas, after cooking is a golden yellow thick pulp, crab paste increases, crab yellow will decrease.
The scientific explanation is for fighting, in fact, to put it bluntly, with "more leg hair is better than victory" a truth.
Because hairy crabs are a migratory creature, simply put, they are busy running to breed and give you more calves for you to eat.
Female crabs develop earlier, male crabs are slightly later. The explanation of foodie theory is that in September, people are busy eating the crab yellow of the female crab, people will reduce the number of children, the male crab crab paste is not much, waiting until October crab yellow to reduce the crab cream increase after eating, just satisfied.
In fact, it is a small crab with a more tender taste, to put it bluntly, it is not yet evolved to be eaten by you. (This is the rhythm of every period of the crab.
Aquatic grass can purify the water quality, can also help crabs sweep away the remaining residue, and at the same time provide them with food and survival help.
Finally, quietly tell you a few Suzhou crab dishes: snowflake crab bucket, crab paste, drunken crab, victim crab and sugar crab.
What if I can't do it? Don't panic, this teaches you how to make a "drunken crab", a selfie dish that can make your circle of friends like countless:
Regarding the question of "how to eat crabs is the best", the lovely teacher Cai Lan answered firmly: Of course, it is eaten raw! So on the last day of fancy hairy crab eating, I want to share this drunken crab with you. However, even the delicious current question is a little bit of a question: is the crab eaten raw?
Cai Lan's solution to this question is: "Eating less is better." As long as it's not excessive, it's fine. ”
1) Eliminate parasites from the source: when buying crabs, find reliable sellers, regular markets or trusted vendors.
2) Check before drunkenly pouring crabs: buy a batch of crabs on the pot to steam a few to see, if there are parasites then steamed will run out, this batch of crabs do not eat raw.
3) If you still can't rest assured, just steam the crab and then get drunk. Cooked drunken crab also has this practice, that is, the taste is slightly inferior to raw drunken crab.
There is still a little obsession with drunken crabs. Because I tried to do it once before, but the crab that came out was a bit fishy. After thinking about it carefully, it may be that the drunken juice is not mixed to the best, and the marinating time will be a little short. After learning from the experience of the last time, I tried several times later, and finally came up with a more satisfactory formula.
01 Hairy crabs are kept in clean water for half an hour, and then carefully brushed off the sediment with a toothbrush, especially the hairy parts on the tongs.
02 Put the washed crab in a large basin and pour in the white wine, so as to get the crab drunk. The hairy crab soaked in the liquor for a while, and when he felt that the crab was drunk, he untied the rope and poured out the liquor.
03 Take about 100mL of rice wine first, add rock sugar, ginger, green onion, star anise, cinnamon, peppercorns, and cook the flavor of the seasoning.
After boiling, let cool, then add the remaining rice wine, light soy sauce and old soy sauce, and finally mix it into a drunken juice.
The amount of raw and dark soy sauce is adjusted according to the pickling time. I use a female crab that is close to three or two large, if the crab is small, it will be easier to taste, and the amount of pickling time and soy sauce should be appropriately reduced.
Rice wine is a very important part, it can be flower carving, rice wine or daughter red, and the wine taste is the best. It must not be replaced with cooking wine, because it is sour. Here I use the ancient Yue Longshan, because the supermarket rice wine is out of stock, only to buy 3 years of sinking, if there is 5 years of sinking or 10 years of sinking of the ancient Yue Longshan is better.
Add the crabs one by one, and then add the drunken juice until the crabs have passed. Then put in the refrigerator freezer and eat after 5-7 days. If you want to add a more even flavor, you can turn the jar upside down every other day.
Although it is a drunken crab, the taste of wine is very humble in it. Crab yellow, which has softened into a paste, will know in the first moment of the entrance, "Well, it is the taste of wine", but the next second the smell of wine disappears without a trace, giving way to the position of capturing the taste buds.
Soft as jelly-like paste, I wanted to describe its taste, but after thinking about it for half a day, I couldn't find any other adjectives except "fresh". The taste is wonderful, the wine, crab and seasoning are all in one, and after fresh, there is a hint of sweetness on the tip of the tongue.
It's not surprising that people have feelings for food. Because the food itself carries a mysterious temperature and temperament.