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Ginger and Scallion Crab with Noodles (薑蔥炒蟹)

by · 21 comments
Stir Fried Ginger and Scallion Crab with Noodles01

I reckon this dish is the most delicious Cantonese stir-fried noodle dish. It’s very popular in Chinese restaurants, yet you might find it quite expensive if the seasonal price of mud crabs is up. If you’re lucky, you can find some at a budget price and cook it yourself at home. How lucky I was the other day and found a giant mud crab at a bargain price. I cooked this dish for my family. Everything in the dish including the sauce was addictively delicious that I didn’t want to waste a bit by licking every finger. You can skip the noodle cooking parts if you only want a stir fried crab dish. It's equally delicious.

Ginger and Scallion Crab with Noodles (Printable recipe)
By Christine's Recipes
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Yield: 2 to 3 serves

Ingredients:
  • 1.2 kg mud crab
  • 3 Tbsp potato starch
  • 1 tsp chicken powder
  • 20 gm ginger, shredded
  • 3 to 4 spring onion, roughly chopped
  • 165 gm e-fu noodles (伊麵)
  • 2 tsp Shaoxing wine
  • 150 ml chicken stock
Sauce:
  • 2 Tbsp water
  • 2 tsp light soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
  • ½ tsp sugar
How To Make Ginger and Scallion Crab with Noodles01

How To Make Ginger and Scallion Crab with Noodles02

Method:
  1. Mix potato starch with chicken powder well. Set aside.
  2. Rinse the crab well and chop into pieces. Wipe dry with kitchen papers. Lightly coat with potato starch mixture.
  3. Heat oil, about ½ inch depth in a wok over medium heat. Test the oil with a pair of wet chopsticks. If many bubbles arise, it means the oil is hot enough. Carefully place the crab pieces in batches and shallow fry until the outside turn orange (Remark: You don’t need to cook through the crab at this stage.) Drain well on kitchen papers to absorb excess oil. Set aside.
  4. Blanch the noodles in boiling water, according to the instructions on packaging. Stir to loosen the noodles. Drain out and rinse in cold water. Drain well and set aside.
  5. Drain and discard the oil leaving about 2 tablespoons of oil in the wok. Saute half of the ginger and spring onion. Add the noodles and stir to combine and evenly heat. Transfer onto a plate, cover to keep warm.
  6. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to sauté the rest of the ginger and spring onion until aromatic. Toss back the crab pieces in the wok. Sprinkle wine. Quickly stir to combine. Add chicken stock and sauce. Cook until the crab pieces are cooked through. Place on top of the noodles. Serve immediately.
Stir Fried Ginger and Scallion Crab with Noodles02

Notes:
  • The chefs at Chinese restaurants use to deep fry crab briefly before stir-frying with other ingredients. As a home cook, I’d like to use less oil and use shallow frying instead. By doing this, the flavour of the crab will be enhanced and won’t lease too much water in the process of stir frying as a result of thinning the sauce.
  • Potato starch can help holding all the delicious sauce on the surface of crab, available at Asian stores.
  • Mud crabs are meaty and often used to make this noodle dish traditionally. If you can’t find any live mud crabs, you might like to use other kinds of crabs instead, like blue swimmer crabs.
  • To get the best results, stir fry the e-fu noodles beforehand as the noodles will take up the aroma of ginger and spring onion.

21 comments :

  1. wow This is so yum, Christine. I am salivating!!!

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  2. It looks so delicious. Thanks for sharing. I really love mud crabs but I could not find them where I live. Can I use this recipe for lobster instead?

    Thanks.

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  3. This sounds delicious Christine. I was curious about one of the ingredients listed, Chicken Powder. What exactly is chicken powder. Is there a specific brand name you use? Thanks for the wonderful recipe. I can't wait to try it.

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    1. That's chicken bouillon powder.
      I used Lee Kum Kee's. But you can use any brands as long as you like the flavour.


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  4. Ah this looks amazing; I've always wanted to cook with whole crabs, but never really have access to particularly fresh ones (or maybe I'm just a bit intimidated with the idea)... this recipe tempts me, though!

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    1. Check with your fishmonger to see if he can open and clean the crab for you.
      Many of them are willing to.
      The fishmonger also asked me if I needed his help. But I like to keep it alive until I do cooking.

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  5. Christine, I just wanted to add my feedback. I tried this last night and the recipe was just delicious - exactly like the dish in my favourite restaurant. I put in a bit more ginger and spring onion as well because... well because I can, I like the taste. Also substituted blue swimmer crab instead of mud crab as it was cheaper. Thanks for the amazing recipe.

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    1. So glad that you liked my recipe. It's surely a keeper. I'll make this dish whenever I spot some seasonal mud crabs at bargain price.

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  6. My husband just came back with 3 huge mud crabs he caught, so will be making this tonight. It looks so yum

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    1. Aw aw aw, caught live mud crabs ! Incredible.
      I can eat one whole crab myself.

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  7. Thank you for the recipe. Today is mother's day and I cooked this for my better half. I did this without the noodles and it was just delicious. I cooked crab before but never did the shallow fry. It really sealed in the juices and made it tasted that much better.

    Well done Christine. I be looking at more of your recipes.

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    1. The shallow frying really does a magic work.
      Thanks for trying my recipe.
      Welcome you to come back for more yummy recipes.

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  8. How do you kill the crab?

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    1. I put the crab into the freezer and get it sleep.
      Sometimes my hubby helps. He uses a knife or chopstick to insert between its shell and body. It won't move anymore in two minutes.

      Then you can chop it into pieces.

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  9. Tried this recipe with two fresh dungeness crabs I caught here in British Columbia, Canada. I'm white, but cooked this for my wife who's from HK, and her family which has a background of running restaurants in HK and Guangzhou, total success!!

    I would note, the soy light soy sauce I used was slightly salty, so try your soy sauce carefully so it doesn't get overly salty. Every brand is different I think.

    I killed he crab by putting them in boiling water, but this wasn't instant. Neither is freezing I heard, did some research, turns out a heavy sharp knife jabb between the eyes is the most humane.

    Printed this, will definitely follow again, thank you!

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    1. Hi Lars,
      So glad that you tried this dish with your freshly caught crabs. Incredible !
      That's a great treat for you wife. This dish is very expensive if you order in a Chinese restaurant.

      Couldn't agree more. Every brand of light soy sauce is so different. Try to use the salt-reduced one if you can find any near your area.

      Thanks for dropping by and leaving your comment. Happy cooking !

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  10. Hi Christine, thank you for this recipe. Tried it with lobster and prawns and it tasted very very close to what I had at a restaurant. Used the Known brand Chicken Powder from China and I think that really help bring out the full flavour of the dish but it it probably has a lot of MSG in it because I was very thirsty after eating it.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jason,
      Thanks for trying this recipe and feedback.
      The shells of lobster and prawns are far thinner than crabs'. No wonder you felt salty and thirsty. You might use less of your chicken powder or try another brand, and see how it goes next time.

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