How to eat Shanghai hairy crabs
Learn how to crack, crunch and suck out the best bits of Shanghai's iconic delicacy
Shanghai cracks in the hairy crab (大闸蟹) season this week as Yangcheng Lake (阳澄湖) -- the main crab-breeding base near the city -- kicked off crabbing last Saturday.
With an estimated five tons of hairy crabs due to crawl onto Shanghai dining tables from now till winter, it’s high time to conquer your fear of whole steamed hairy crab, which is the best way to savor the seafood.
Tearing apart an entire crab from shell to claw is considered a part of the fun of consuming the dish.
Some Shanghai restaurants will do all the dirty work, but why let them have all the fun?
More on CNNGo: Shanghai's best hairy crab
As avid hairy crab fan, Hilton Shanghai hotel executive chef Emmanuel Souliere said: “It’s education. Don’t be scared to be messy a bit. It’s part of the deal. It’s not a complex thing to eat once you get the hang of it.”
Souliere sat down to teach us how to crack, crunch and suck out the good bits.
1. Known as “hairy crab” (毛蟹) in English, the local name of the gourmet seafood is dazha xie, or big sluice crab (大闸蟹). Although it falls under the same family of hairy crab, only those heavier than 150 grams can be classified as dazha xie.
2. Dazha xie and hairy crabs are considered two different foods by Shanghai foodies.
3. The best time to consume dazha xie is in September and October when they are freshly caught, while normal hairy crabs are eaten year-round in Shanghai.
4. The price difference between dazha xie and normal hairy crabs is staggering. Sometimes, dazha xie can be 30-50 times more expensive than normal hairy crabs.
5. Although Yangcheng Lake is famous for its dazha xie, it’s not the only breeding ground for dazha xie in China. Dazha xie are bred in many freshwater lakes along the East China coast, for example Hongze Lake (洪泽湖) in Jiangsu Province.
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