It is a hot pot dish with a light sweetness, the flavor of freshwater crab is rich and delicious, making it enjoyable to eat without getting tired of it. Very suitable for the whole family to enjoy on hot summer days. Let’s go to the kitchen to showcase our cooking skills with the freshwater crab hot pot for the family to enjoy together.
1. Freshwater Crab Hot Pot
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Preparation
15 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Medium
Ingredients for Freshwater Crab Hot Pot Serves 5 people
Freshwater crab 1 kg Bone marrow 500 gr Beef 200 gr Tofu 3 pieces Fresh noodles 1 kg Accompanying vegetables 200 gr (Amaranth/sponge gourd/banana flower/shredded water spinach) Lemongrass 2 stalks Shallots 5 bulbs Minced garlic 1 tablespoon Tomatoes 3 pieces Common seasonings a little (sugar/salt/seasoning powder) Cooking oil 2 tablespoons
Cooking Tools
Ingredient Images
How to Prepare Freshwater Crab Hotpot
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Prepare Ingredients
Wash the water spinach leaves, peel the loofah, wash it clean, and cut it diagonally. Wash the tomatoes and cut them into wedges.
Wash the pork bones and let them drain; to clean them, blanch the bones in boiling water for about 5 minutes.
Wash the freshwater crabs and let them drain. Then, remove the shell and place the crab roe in a separate bowl, and grind or pound the crab meat.
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Cook Bone Broth and Make Crab Roe
Cook Bone Broth:
Place a pot on the stove, add 2 liters of water, the pork bones, and 2 shallots into the pot, and simmer over low heat for 3 hours to obtain the broth.
Make Crab Roe:
Heat a pan on the stove, add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and wait for it to heat up, then add 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon of minced shallots, and stir-fry until fragrant and golden.
After the garlic and shallots are fragrant, add the crab roe and stir-fry for about 5 minutes.
Cook Crab Meat Broth:
Add the ground crab meat to 700 ml of the bone broth, then strain the liquid into the pot.
Add 1 teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil; when the water boils and a layer of crab foam appears on the surface, remove the crab foam and set it aside.
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Cooking crab hotpot
Place a pot on the stove, if using an electric hotpot, plug it in, then add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, and add 1 tablespoon of minced shallots to sauté until fragrant and golden.
Add tomatoes and stir-fry for about 2 minutes, then add 1 tablespoon of sugar and 2 stalks of lemongrass to stir-fry.
Add the bone broth and crab paste to bring to a boil, add 2 tablespoons of seasoning, 1 teaspoon of salt, and the crab meat, and wait for it to boil. Adjust the seasoning to taste to complete.
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Final product
Set the hotpot or electric hotpot on the dining table, arrange vegetables, fresh noodles or rice crackers in bowls, cook the hotpot gently to dip the vegetables, dipping as you eat, adding beef and crab paste as you go.
You now have a delicious freshwater crab hotpot that rivals what you can find outside to treat the whole family to a lovely meal this weekend!
2. Freshwater Crab Hot Pot (recipe shared by a user)
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Preparation
20 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Freshwater Crab Hot Pot (recipe shared by a user) Serves 4 people
Freshwater crabs 500 gr Bones 500 gr Crab fat 30 gr Fish cake 200 gr Mushrooms 200 gr (straw mushrooms or any type of mushrooms you like) Tofu 3 pieces Tomatoes 4 pieces Hot pot vegetables 300 gr (amaranth/ loofah/ mustard greens/ water spinach) Minced garlic 1 tablespoon Minced shallots 2 tablespoons Chopped green onions 1 tablespoon Fish sauce 1 tablespoon Cooking oil 4 tablespoons Common spices a little (salt/ sugar/ monosodium glutamate/ seasoning powder/ ground pepper)
Implementation Tools
How to Choose Fresh Ingredients
How to Choose Fresh Bones
- If you choose to buy bone marrow, pay attention to the color of the bones. Good bones will have a bright color, not pale, and have no strange smell.
- Choose bones that are about 2 to 3 finger joints in size.
- If you are buying ribs, you should choose pieces of ribs with flat bones.
- The ribs should have a pink color and no strange smell.
- When pressing on the ribs, the piece of meat should still have good elasticity, and the surface of the meat should be dry and not sticky to the hand.
- For this dish, you should choose either bone marrow or rib bones, both are very delicious.
How to Choose Fresh Fish Cakes
- Fresh fish cakes will have a pinkish-red meat color.
- The fish cake should not have a strange smell, and should not turn gray or pale white.
- You should buy fish cakes from reputable places to ensure quality.
- If buying frozen or packaged fish cakes, pay attention to the expiration date and check the relevant information on the packaging.
-800x450-10.jpg "Delicious and Easy-to-Make Freshwater Crab Hotpot Recipe at Home 15")
How to Prepare Freshwater Crab Hot Pot (recipe shared by users)
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Preparing the Crab
After purchasing the crabs, remove the apron, detach the shell, and separate the crab fat into a separate bowl.
After cleaning the crabs, grind them finely or pound them, then filter to obtain the crab juice. After filtering, you will get about 2 liters of crab juice.
Tip: You can ask the seller to grind the crabs for you to shorten the preparation time.
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Prepare the other ingredients
After cutting the bones into bite-sized pieces, wash them clean.
Clean and wash the mushrooms, then cut them in half or quarters depending on your preference. Cut the tomatoes into wedges.
Cut the tofu into bite-sized pieces and fry until golden. If you buy pre-fried tofu, you should also fry it briefly to make it crispier and tastier.
Marinate the fish paste with half a teaspoon of salt, half a tablespoon of sugar, half a tablespoon of seasoning, half a teaspoon of pepper, 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, and 1 tablespoon of finely chopped green onion. Mix all the ingredients together.
Marinate the fish for about 10 to 15 minutes, then proceed to form into balls.
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Cooking the broth
Add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and 1 tablespoon of minced shallots into the pot. Sauté the shallots until fragrant and then add 500g of bones and stir well.
Next, add about 2 liters of water and simmer for about 1 hour to extract the broth.
Tip: During the simmering process, you should regularly skim off the foam to make the broth clearer and tastier.
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Sautéing tomatoes with crab roe
Add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and 1 tablespoon of minced shallots to the pan. Sauté the shallots until fragrant and add the crab roe to stir-fry.
Then add all the tomatoes, and while stir-frying, mash the tomatoes to soften them so that the broth has a beautiful color when cooking the hotpot.
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Cooking the crab meat
Prepare a pot and pour in all the 2 liters of filtered crab water, adding 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
Cook until the crab meat rises to the surface, then stir to break up the crab meat, preventing it from clumping together.
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Cooking the hot pot broth
Add the bone broth to the crab soup mixture, totaling about 3.5 – 4 liters of water. Next, add all the tomatoes and crab roe that you have sautéed earlier.
Season with 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, 2 tablespoons of sugar, half a teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, 1 tablespoon of seasoning powder, and half a teaspoon of ground pepper. While seasoning, you can adjust the spices to suit your family’s taste.
Then add the tofu, mushrooms, and fish paste balls. Let the broth boil for about 7 minutes for the fish to cook through.
Note:
- You should wait for the water to boil before adding the fish to prevent it from having a fishy smell.
- If you want the fish to be firmer, you can pound or mix the fish for about 10 minutes before rolling it into balls.
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Final Product
The final step that cannot be missed to complete the dish is to serve it and enjoy. The crab hot pot broth is rich and flavorful with creamy crab paste, chewy fish cake, served with fresh vegetables and noodles that are delicious enough to forget the way home. Quickly “save” this recipe and make it right away!
Successful Execution Tips
- Blanch vegetables as you use them to keep them crispy and delicious.
- If grinding crabs with a blender, make sure to wash them thoroughly; otherwise, the blender will smell fishy.
- Choose fresh ingredients for a tastier freshwater crab hot pot.
- The freshwater crab hot pot is incredibly appealing when served with vermicelli or fresh noodles, and you can dip the ingredients in salty fish sauce to enhance the flavor.
How to Choose Fresh and Delicious Crabs
- Opt for crabs that have a shiny yellow color and a healthy shell.
- Choose crabs with smaller claws and a shiny, firm shell.
- You should select female crabs with a yellow or gray shell as they will have more roe and be meatier than male crabs.
- Avoid buying crabs that are too large or too small; crabs slightly larger than your thumb are ideal.
- If you choose pre-ground or pre-prepared crabs, select a reputable source to ensure cleanliness.
- If buying canned or packaged crabs, pay attention to the expiration date and buy from a reliable place. This product is also available at TasteVN.
See more
With just a few simple steps, you can enjoy the dish river crab hotpot which is rustic yet captivating. Wishing you success!
*Source for the recipe and images shared from Facebook: Dương Sunny.
