Summer Wilderness Life - Spicy Crayfish

 

The happy time of camping in the wilderness is the best rhythm of life. It's better to enjoy it alone than to enjoy it with others. Come on! Gather with friends and enjoy a culinary journey!

There are various ways to prepare the delicious taste of crayfish, and what are the cooking methods? Let's share "Spicy Crayfish" together below.

How to cook spicy crayfish？

Homemade recipe for spicy crayfish.

To make spicy crayfish, there are three key steps:

cleaning thoroughly, frying and locking fresh, and simmering with beer.

1、 Prepare ingredients
Main ingredient: 2 pounds of crayfish (choose fresh green shell shrimp for more tender meat).
Spices: ginger slices, garlic (add more, about 1 head), scallions, dried chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, fragrant leaves, cinnamon.
Seasoning: Pixian Douban Sauce (2 tablespoons), Hotpot Base (a small piece, key to enhancing flavor), Light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, white sugar, salt, beer (1 can, a great tool for removing fishy smell and enhancing freshness).
2、 Handling crayfish (most crucial)
Tubing: Add a little salt and white vinegar to clean water, let it ferment for 1-2 hours to let it spit out dirt, and change the water halfway.
Brushing: Use a toothbrush to vigorously rub the shrimp belly and crevices in the shrimp claws, and rinse with running water until the water becomes clear.
Remove dirt:
Cut off the first one-third of the head and remove the black stomach sac (keeping the clear shrimp yellow color).
Pinch the middle fin of the tail and twist it left and right to pull out the shrimp line.
3、 Cooking steps
Deep frying (set and flavorful): Pour more oil into the pot, heat to 60% heat (with chopsticks bubbling), pour in crayfish and fry for 30-60 seconds. Immediately remove the shell when it appears completely red and slightly blistered. This step can make the shell crispy and more juicy in the later stage.
Stir fry base (with red oil): Leave the base oil in the pan (or add a little butter), heat over low heat until fragrant ginger, garlic, scallions, dried chili, Sichuan peppercorns, and all spices are added. Add Pixian bean paste and hotpot base, stir fry until red oil and aroma are achieved.
Stewing (seasoning): Pour in the fried crayfish and stir fry over high heat, then coat with red oil. Drizzle in light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and white sugar. Pour in a whole can of beer (no shrimp, no water added), bring to a boil over high heat, cover with a lid, and simmer over medium heat for 12-15 minutes.
Juice collection (flavor retention): Open the lid and turn on high heat to collect the juice, stirring until the soup becomes thick and hangs on the shrimp. Taste the salt and add some salt, sprinkle chopped scallions or cilantro on top of the pot.
Warm tips:
Beer replacing water is the soul, as it not only eliminates fishy odors but also adds a hint of malt aroma to the meat.
If you like side dishes (cucumber, konjac, potatoes), you can put them 5 minutes before juicing, don't cook them too early and they will easily rot.
After turning off the heat, you can let the shrimp soak in the soup for a few minutes before eating, which will make it more flavorful.

What are the common and diverse cooking methods for spicy crayfish?

Spicy crayfish, as a basic dish, has spawned many common variations around "spiciness, spice, and flavor type". You can match them according to the degree of spiciness and taste preference:
Spicy crayfish (Ma Xiao): On the basis of spiciness, the amount of Sichuan pepper/Ma Jiao is significantly increased, with a prominent numbing taste and a spicy touch. It is a classic representative of heavy flavors in Beijing's Guijie and Sichuan Chongqing regions.
Thirteen spice crayfish: Without overly emphasizing the spicy flavor of red oil, the core is the complex aroma of thirteen spice powder (more than ten kinds of Chinese herbal spices) with Douban sauce and hot pot base. It is salty, fresh, fragrant and spicy, with a rich variety of flavor levels, originating from Xuyi, Jiangsu.
Garlic crayfish: Reduce dried chili and Sichuan peppercorns, and stir fry a large amount of golden and silver garlic (half fried until golden, half garlic) until fragrant and stewed. The garlic aroma is rich, the soup is mellow and slightly sweet, and the spiciness is very low. It is very suitable for people who do not eat spicy food. The soup mixed with noodles is a masterpiece.
Qianjiang Oil Braised Shrimp: Hubei's signature recipe. Heavy oil, sugar color, and sauces (such as Douban sauce and soy sauce) are slowly simmered over low heat to allow the shrimp meat to absorb the sauce. The finished product has a bright red color, salty, sweet, and spicy flavor, with a thick and oily sauce but relatively less intense spicy stimulation.
Changsha style shrimp: Similar to spicy but often flavored with perilla, it is often stir fried and stewed with a lot of dried chili and spices. It is fresh, spicy, fragrant, and has a special aroma of perilla, making it the top stream of Hunan night snacks.
Other distinctive variations: there are also salt and pepper/dry stir frying (dry and crispy, with a very dry finish), salted egg yolk baking (wrapped in salted egg yolk sand, with a strong salty aroma), ice drunk/flower carved cooked drunk (not spicy, with a clear and sweet wine aroma, cold eating), winter yin gong/curry (sour and spicy coconut or curry flavor), etc.
If you have children or people who don't eat spicy food very much at home, it's safer to choose garlic or oil stew; If it's a heavy mouthed spicy party, spicy, thirteen spice, and Changsha style shrimp will be even more satisfying.

Cooking recipe for spicy crayfish......

What is the difference in preparation between garlic crayfish and spicy crayfish?

Which spices can be replaced in the recipe of spicy crayfish?

What are the classic recipe videos for spicy crayfish?

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