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Preparation
15 minutes
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Cooking
20 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
The simplest way to cook sea crab is to make steamed dishes, however, to steam the crab well and retain its natural sweetness, a few small tips are also needed. Let’s get cooking with TasteVN to make the best beer steamed crab dish.
Ingredients for Beer Steamed Crab For 4 people
Sea crab 2 kg Lemongrass 10 stalks Beer 330 ml (1 can)
Tools: Stove, steamer, bowls, plates,…
Crab with roe: A crab with roe is a female crab with a square, large abdomen. If you look under the crab and see the red roe overflowing, it indicates a good, firm crab with plenty of roe.
Meat crab: A meat crab is a male crab with a small, triangular abdomen.
How to choose good, firm crabs:
- Check the claws: Look at the soft skin (silk skin) on the elbow of the crab claw; if this skin is pink or dark pink and smooth, it is a freshly caught crab. Conversely, if the color is pale and the skin is wrinkled, it indicates an old crab.
- Squeeze the crab’s abdomen: When you squeeze the crab’s abdomen and it feels firm, it indicates a firm, meaty crab. If this part is soft and floppy, it indicates a underweight crab with little meat.
- Squeeze the thigh part of the swimming leg, below the shell: If you squeeze this part and see the crab struggles with the whole leg and claw, it means the crab is still strong and meaty.
Overall, if you see the crab’s abdomen is firm, tightly attached to the crab’s body, the spines on the shell are still sharp, and the legs and claws move rhythmically and flexibly, it indicates a fresh, delicious crab with plenty of meat.
How to make Beer Steamed Crab
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Prepare the ingredients
Wash the lemongrass, crush it, and cut into pieces about 5 cm long.
Soak the crabs in a bowl of ice water to temporarily stun them so that they do not lose their legs when steaming. Once the crabs are stiff, remove the ties, and use a toothbrush to scrub the entire crab body, including the gaps between the legs, to clean them thoroughly. Rinse the crabs again to remove all dirt and grime from their bodies.
After cleaning the crabs, remove the crab apron, as the hair inside the crab apron is inedible and affects the flavor of the crab after cooking.
Note:If you don’t have time to prepare the crabs immediately, after buying them, place the crabs in the freezer refrigerator, or put them on an ice cube to keep them stiff without killing them. Do not put crabs in water as temperature shock will cause them to die faster.
Beer and lemongrass help the crabs steam without a fishy smell, making the crabs fragrant and tastier.
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Steam the crabs
Prepare a steamer, pour beer at the bottom, and place the crabs, lemongrass, and ginger on the steamer tray above. Cover the pot, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, and steam for about 15 minutes until the crabs are cooked. At this point, use cooking oil to brush over the crab body, cover, and steam for another 2 – 3 minutes before turning off the heat.
Note:The cooking oil helps the crabs have a shiny appearance and maintain their red color longer. Do not season with additional spices when steaming the crabs as they already have a salty flavor.
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Final Product
Once the crab is cooked, arrange it on a plate, and when eating, dip it in salt and chili lime to enhance the flavor. Beer steamed crabs are very simple to make but retain the pure sweet and chewy texture of crabs that other cooking methods find hard to achieve.
It’s really easy to have a delicious beer steamed crab dish, wish you success!
*Refer to the images and recipe from the YouTube channel Vietnamese Cuisine.
