Preparation

15 minutes
Cooking

20 minutes
Difficulty

Easy

If you are a seafood lover, you definitely should not miss the extremely delicious and fragrant steamed crabs with lemongrass below. The process for this dish is surprisingly simple and can be easily done at home. Let’s join TasteVN into the kitchen to make this steamed dish!

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1 Prepare the crab

2 Prepare other ingredients

3 Make dipping salt

4 Steam the crab

5 Finished Product

Ingredients for Steamed Crabs with Lemongrass For 3 people

Crabs 3 pieces (about 1.5 – 2kg) Lemongrass 12 stalks Ginger 1 root Calamondin 1 piece Peppercorns 1 tablespoon Salt 1 tablespoon Beer 330 ml Cooking oil 2 teaspoons Common spices a little (salt/ sugar/ monosodium glutamate/ seasoning powder)

Required tools

How to choose fresh and delicious crabs

Observe the silk skin between the elbow joint of the crab’s claw; if the silk skin is light or dark pink, the crab will have more meat and will taste better when cooked.
In addition, choose crabs with shiny claws, which indicates they are fat, while thin crabs will have wrinkled claws.
Gently squeeze the crab’s belly; a good crab will have a firm and certain hardness.
Do not buy crabs that are inactive or sluggish, as these crabs are about to die, and the meat will not be firm and fresh.

See details: How to choose fresh crabs

Ingredients for steamed crabs with lemongrass

How to prepare Steamed Sea Crab with Lemongrass

1
Prepare the crab

Keep the string on the crab intact, soak the crab in water. To proceed with anesthetizing the crab, add ice water and soak for 10 minutes.

After the first 5 minutes of anesthetizing the crab, use a brush to scrub the mud and sand off each part of the crab.
How to clean sea crab properly:
- After buying the crab, place it in a ventilated area for about 5 minutes, then soak it in water to help the crab adapt to the temperature, preventing thermal shock and death.
- When cleaning the crab, use a brush to thoroughly scrub every nook and cranny of the crab while rinsing under running water to wash away the mud and sand.
2

Prepare other ingredients

Wash the lemongrass and then crush it with a knife.

Peel the ginger, wash it thoroughly, and slice it into thin pieces.
3

Make dipping salt

You put 1 tablespoon of whole pepper and 1 tablespoon of coarse salt into a mortar and pound until fine.

Then, add 1/2 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate into the mortar and mix well.

When using, squeeze in 1 calamondin and you can enjoy.
4

Steam the crab

First, evenly arrange the lemon grass and ginger in the steamer, then place the crab on top.

Next, sprinkle the crab shell with spices including 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, 1 teaspoon of seasoning powder, and 1 teaspoon of sugar.

In the steamer, add 1 liter of filtered water along with 1 can of beer of your choice, then place the steamer on top. Cover with the lid, turn on the stove to low heat, and steam the crab for 7 minutes.

After the crab stops moving, you need to open the lid and rearrange the crab. Cover the lid and continue steaming for another 5 minutes until the crab is fully cooked.

Tip: To make the crab after steaming appear red and shiny, attractive and appealing, you should add a little cooking oil on the crab and steam for an additional minute before turning off the stove.
5

Finished Product

The steamed crab with lemongrass is completed and has a fragrant aroma.

With this dish, the scent of lemongrass and ginger is subtle, combined with the delicious crab meat. Eating the crab still retains the sweet and tender flavor, making it very appealing, especially when dipped in the sauce, it’s irresistible.