Chaoshan Crab Congee 潮汕砂锅粥

Chaoshan, chao zhou, Crab Congee, crab, rice porridge, chinese, recipe, 蟹粥, 潮汕砂锅粥, Teoswa, chiushan

Oh, so pretty, amirite?! We've had lovely, lovely seafood on our minds after our recent trip to Chaoshan 潮汕 where we feasted, among other things, on marinated raw seafood of all kinds, omgosh, sooo good. (We're still writing that amazing experience up so stay tuned.) So yummilicious seafood been on our minds alot lately.

Inspired by our trip and the wonderful food consumed we made this simple congee that is a delectable treat for all seafood lovers. Just fresh crab and some rice and you're on your way to this authentic super duper Chaoshan Crab Congee 潮汕砂锅粥!

This is what started it all, oh just look at this beautifully fresh blue flower crab 藍花蟹. Ain't it just the loveliest? We found it in the supermarket, late at night, marked down alot to sell fast. Whoopee, love us a seafood deal!

For the best, freshest deals on a regular basis, haunt your local wet market for crabby deals.

Once you've got the crab it's time to make the other half of crab congee: the congee! We will need rice, some water, and a wee bit of oil to make the basic rice porridge. Oops, looks like it's time for us to stock up on some rice, lol!

For the authentic Chaoshan crab congee one must toss in a bit of the famous Tianjin pickled vegetables 天津冬菜. Tianjin pickled vegetables is a famous brand of salt pickled Chinese vegetables. Adds a delicious bit of umami to the congee. And don't forget that fermented veggies are great for gut health.

You can also sub in any Chinese pickled vegetable you like (there are so many kinds of Chinese pickles!) But a traditionalist might be a bit put out. But no matter, as long as it tastes fabulous, amirite? Just be sure to take a nibble of the pickled veg you want to use first, to check if the salt level is okay for your congee. If it's too salty soak in a bit of water first until desired salt level is reached.

Alrighty, it's time to start making the congee. If you can read the Chinese name for this congee you'll see that the direct translation is 'Chaoshan claypot congee'. The reason being, of course, that traditionally this congee was made in one of those wonderful Chinese clay pots. But it's just fine to just a regular metal pot too.

Throw in your rice, water and a wee bit of oil to help control the rice from boiling over the pot. Cook over a low heat, stirring, until the rice is about to "bloom", i.e. has absorbed water to the point it's plumped up and about to fall apart. It's then time to add in the crab and the pickled vegetables. Boil the crabs until the color changes to a bright orange.

Note that authentic Chaoshan congee is watery! As opposed to the traditional Cantonese congee 粥 which is thick and creamy, it's more like the Chinese rice soup 泡飯, soft cooked rice swimming in a comforting starchy liquid. If your congee does get thick just add more water!

When the congee is finished, spoon into the serving bowls with a bit of crab for each bowl. The add the final aromatic flourish with the addition of three greens: cilantro, Chinese celery, and spring onion. Note that Chinese celery 芹菜, the one in the middle of the photo above, is not the same as regular celery. It's also known as leaf celery or Nan Ling celery and has a way more intense celery taste and a light, crunchy bite.

Each of these aromatics will add their own distinct herbal touch, highlighting the fresh sea sweetness of the crab.

Whoowee! This crab congee sure is a looker! Gleaming orange crab, swimming lazily in creamy rice congee, accented with fresh greens. Oh and sooo yummilicious to boot! Try it out and let us know if it's CRABBY enough for you!

Chaoshan Crab Congee Recipe

潮汕砂锅粥

(makes 4 servings) Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

2 blue flower crabs, 藍花蟹

3/4 cup uncooked rice

1 tsp oil

8 cups water

2 tbsp Tianjin pickled vegetable 天津冬菜

salt, if necessary

2 springs cilantro

1 sprig Chinese celery, 芹菜

1 sprig spring onion

Directions:

Prepare the crabs: Rinse the crab, scrubbing with a toothbrush if necessary. Remove the shell from the body by inserting fingers underneath the shell on the side opposite the eyes. You should be able to grab on and pull the shell and body apart. Remove the greenish grey gills and discard. Twist off the crab claws. Use a cracker tool or something heavy to lightly crack the claws. Use a cleaver to chop the body into fourths, leaving the legs attached to the body.

Prepare pickled veg: Taste a piece of pickled veg to check salt level. It should be salty enough to flavor the congee. If you think the saltiness is excessive you can soak in water to remove some of the salt. (This check is because different brands of pickled veg might have different salt levels.) Chop the pickled veg and reserve.

Prepare the aromatics: Rinse and dry the cilantro, Chinese celery and spring onion. Roughly chop the cilantro and celery, including the leaves. Slice the spring onions to rounds.

Boil the congee: Add the water, rice and oil to a large deep pot. When the water boils turn down the heat to low and let cook, stirring occasionally until the rice just starts to break up. Add the crab and pickled veg in and cook a further 5 mins or until the crab has turned a bright orange and the rice is just breaking up. If the congee is too thick add boiling water to adjust to desired amount of wateriness. Test the congee and add extra salt (or soy sauce) if needed.

Serve the congee: Divide the crab body and legs equally into 4 bowls. Scoop the congee over the crabs. Top off two of the bowls with the crabs shells. Sprinkle the aromatics over the congee. Serve hot and crabbilicious!!

Creative Crabbing at The Hong Kong Cookery: