Crab and gourd are both affordable food items that are rich in nutrients beneficial for the body. Today, TasteVN will guide you through 2 ways to cook crab and gourd hotpot at home that are incredibly delicious, rivaling those from restaurants. Let’s get cooking and make this hotpot!
1. Crab and Gourd Hotpot
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Preparation
20 minutes
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Cooking
25 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Crab and Gourd Hotpot Serves 4 people
Crab 2 pieces Gourd 1 piece Bone broth 1.5 liters Enoki mushrooms 50 gr Shallots 1 bulb Green onions/coriander a little Cooking oil 1/4 tablespoon Fish sauce 1/2 teaspoon Common seasonings a little (seasoning powder/msg/pepper)
Ingredient Image
How to Prepare Crab Soup
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Prepare the Crab
First, turn the crab over and use scissors to stab directly into the cavity under the crab’s belly.
Then, cut off the crab’s bindings, use a brush to scrub the crab thoroughly, especially on both sides, and rinse with clean water.
Next, separate the crab shell, remove the apron, the hairs inside the apron, and the lungs. You can trim the crab shell for a neater appearance.
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Prepare Other Ingredients
Peel the gourd, wash it clean, then use a knife to cut the gourd into bite-sized pieces.
Trim the base of 50g of enoki mushrooms, then rinse them with clean water. For the shallots, peel them, wash briefly, and chop finely.
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Cooking the hot pot broth
Place a pot on the stove, add 1/4 tablespoon of cooking oil, then add finely chopped shallots and sauté until fragrant.
Once the shallots are slightly golden and aromatic, add 1.5 liters of simmered bone broth to the pot, turn the heat to high to bring the hot pot broth to a boil.
Add 1 tablespoon of seasoning, 1/2 tablespoon of monosodium glutamate, 1/4 tablespoon of sugar, about 1/2 teaspoon of fish sauce, and 1 tablespoon of ground pepper to the pot.
After the hot pot broth boils again, use a ladle to skim off the foam to make the broth clear.
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Cooking the hot pot
Next, add the crabs to the boiling hot pot, cook on high heat for 10 – 12 minutes until the crabs are cooked, and remember to use a ladle to skim off the foam while cooking.
Then add all the gourd to the pot, lower the heat, and cook for another 2 – 3 minutes until the gourd is cooked. You can adjust the hot pot broth to suit your family’s taste.
Add enoki mushrooms to the pot, sprinkle with chopped green onions, then turn off the heat.
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Final Product
So the crab soup dish is completed. The sweet and light flavor of the broth combined with the delicious crab meat and the natural sweetness of the gourd will surely make you and your family love it.
2. Sour and Spicy Crab Soup
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Preparation
20 minutes
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Cooking
40 minutes
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Difficulty
Medium
Ingredients for Sour and Spicy Crab Soup Serves 4 people
Sea crab 2 pieces Gourd 1 piece White radish 1 piece Accompanying vegetables 500 gr (Malabar spinach/Enoki mushrooms/Chicken thigh mushrooms/Water lily/Amaranth) Green onions 3 stalks Shallots 2 pieces Garlic 2 cloves Ginger 1/2 piece Lemon juice 1 teaspoon Thai hot pot seasoning 1 packet (55 gr) Cooking oil 2 tablespoons
Ingredients image
How to make sour and spicy crab hotpot
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Prepare the crab
You wash the crab thoroughly, separate the shell, remove the apron and lungs, then cut the crab in half, crush the crab claws, and trim the sharp parts of the legs to make the broth sweeter when cooked.
You take the crab roe and put it in a bowl, squeeze in 1 teaspoon of lime juice to eliminate the fishy smell.
Tip for cleaning crab
- Turn the crab over, lift the apron from its belly, and use a sharp knife to poke straight into the hollow part under the crab’s belly until the legs and claws are fully extended.
- You should use a brush and scrub the crab under running water. Remember to pay attention to the areas where algae cling the most on the crab’s body, which are the sides, so clean this area carefully.
- Remember to separate the apron and the crab’s hair inside the apron and discard them first. If you are steaming the crab, separate the shell from the body before cooking. If boiling or grilling, keep the whole crab intact.
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Prepare the vegetables
Wash the gourd, peel the skin, cut it into quarters, and then cut into bite-sized pieces.
For the accompanying vegetables, remove any wilted leaves, soak in diluted salt water for about 10 minutes to clean off dirt and pesticides, then rinse with clean water.
Peel the shallots and garlic, crush them, and then chop finely. Peel the ginger and then crush it.
Trim the roots and wilted leaves of the green onions, wash well, and then chop. Peel the radish, rinse briefly with water, and cut into pieces.
Note: Do not cut the radish and gourd too small when simmering, or they will break apart.
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Cook the broth
Place a pot on the stove, set it to medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, and sauté the shallots and garlic until fragrant. Reserve a little of the sautéed shallots and garlic to add to the crab meat for flavor.
Then add 1.5 liters of filtered water to the pot and turn the heat up high. When the water boils, add 1 pack of Thai hot pot seasoning, crushed ginger, and white radish to the pot. Wait for it to boil again, then add the crab and gourd to the pot.
Once the crab and gourd are cooked, add the crab meat to the pot, cook for another 5 minutes, then add the green onions and turn off the heat.
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Finished Product
Sour and Spicy Crab Hotpot with delicious sweet broth from white radish, the sourness of Thai hotpot spices, and the fragrant aroma of various herbs combined with fresh crab and crispy vegetables is incredibly enticing!
You can eat it with vermicelli and dip it in chili fish sauce for an extra flavor boost.
How to Choose Fresh and Delicious Sea Crabs
- You should choose crabs that have a dull gray shell on the outside, and when you press the abdomen, it feels firm, and the abdomen is large because that indicates crabs with a lot of meat.
- You should select very fresh crabs, with the abdomen still tightly attached to the body, and the legs and claws moving vigorously and flexibly, with the spines on the claws and carapace intact.
- You should avoid crabs that have thin legs and a slightly greenish carapace, and if the abdomen feels soft when pressed, as these crabs have very little meat and are not tasty.
- If you want to eat crabs with a lot of meat, choose male crabs; if you want crabs with roe, then buy female crabs.
How to choose delicious bottle gourd
- You should choose bottle gourds that are medium-sized, elongated, green-skinned, with freshly cut stems as they are delicious.
- Avoid choosing bottle gourds that are too large and have yellowed skin, as these are overripe and will not taste good when cooked.
Tips for successfully making crab hotpot with bottle gourd
- For the hotpot broth, you can use broth made from various pork bones or chicken bones to make it sweeter and tastier. However, if not available, you can also use plain water.
- While cooking the broth and hotpot, frequently skim off the foam to make the broth clearer and more beautiful.
- You can use a electric hotpot to cook the hotpot; when serving, add various vegetables, meat, and seafood to enjoy.
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Above, TasteVN has just guided you in detail on 2 ways to cook bottle gourd crab hotpot that are simple yet extremely delicious and unique. Quickly jot down the recipe to cook this delicious dish to treat your family on weekends! Wishing you success in your cooking.
