Cantonese Stir-Fried Blue Crab with Ginger and Scallions

Hold the crab legs on both sides and pry off the main top shell. Remove the dark stomach and internal organs inside the shell. Trim the sharp side edges of the carapace with a cleaver. Pull off the belly flap, remove the grey gills on both sides of the body, and trim the sharp claw tips. Crack the heavy claw shells gently with the back of a cleaver, then cut each crab body in half into two pieces.

Slice 40g of ginger diagonally into thin oval slices. Crush 2 cloves of garlic with the flat side of a cleaver and coarsely mince. Wash 100g of scallions, separate the white stalks and green tops, cut both into 4cm segments, and place into two separate small bowls.

Place 20g of cornstarch in a small dish. Dip the exposed meat cut surfaces of each crab half into the dry cornstarch, gently shaking off excess powder to leave a thin coating on the raw meat. Sprinkle a light dust of cornstarch inside the shells and over the claws.

Heat the wok over high heat until slightly smoking. Pour in 45ml of cooking oil, swirl to coat the wok surface, then pour the excess oil back into a bowl. Reduce to medium heat and place all crab body halves with starch-dusted meat cuts facing DOWN onto the wok. Fry for about 45 seconds until the starch sets into a golden crust to seal in the meat, then briefly scoop out and drain.

Using the residual oil in the wok over medium-high heat, add the top carapaces, large claws, and legs. Stir-fry and toss continuously for about 40 seconds until the shells turn completely bright red and fragrant. Pour all the crab pieces into a perforated skimmer to drain excess oil.

Clean and reheat the wok, then add 15ml of the reserved oil. Add the sliced ginger first and saute over medium heat for about 20 seconds until aromatic and edges turn pale golden. Add 10g of minced garlic and stir-fry quickly for 10 seconds to release garlic aroma.

Pour all drained crab pieces back into the wok. Turn to high heat and toss quickly to mix with aromatics. Add 250ml of water (1 bowl), season with 3g of salt and 10g of oyster sauce, and stir evenly. Cover with lid and simmer over medium-high heat for 2 minutes until broth boils rapidly and crab meat is cooked through.

Remove the lid and toss in the scallion white segments. Stir-fry over high heat for 15 seconds to infuse scallion flavor. Mix 5g of cornstarch with 15ml of water to make a slurry. Drizzle half of the slurry around the wok edges while tossing until the sauce thickens and glazes the crab pieces. Drizzle 15ml of cooked oil around the edges to give a shiny finish.

Add the scallion green segments and toss continuously over maximum heat until just wilted and bright green. Drizzle 3ml of light soy sauce along the wok edges to enhance umami, toss rapidly to combine until glossy, then turn off the heat.

Use chopsticks to place two secondary crab shells upside down on the plate bottom to trap savory sauce. Neatly stack the cooked crab bodies, claws, scallions, and ginger slices in the center. Spoon the remaining rich sauce over the crab meat, and crown the top with the main crab carapace.