Crab Claws with Oyster Sauce in a Wok

⏳ Time

15 minutes

🥕 Ingredients

🍽️ Servings

Description

For this dish, chicken broth is simmered with minimal salt or even without it. The broth will be needed to dilute the concentrated flavors of the soy and oyster sauces.

Ingredients

King crab back claws - 5 oz
Spanish onions - ⅓ heads
Garlic - ½ cloves
Soy Sauce - 1 tablespoon
Starch film - ½ spoons
Oyster Mushrooms - ½ spoons
Sugar - a pinch
Chicken Broth - 1½ glasses
Lime - ¼ pieces
Ground Black Pepper - to taste

Step by Step guide

Step 1

Thaw the Kamchatka crab legs. Cut open the shell; you don't need special kitchen shears, regular scissors will work just fine. Remove the meat with your hands and let it sit for about ten minutes to drain any excess water. If you are working with pre-cleaned crab, it should also be thawed and excess moisture removed.

Step 2

Dissolve half a teaspoon of starch in a third of a cup of cold water — it must be cold, otherwise, the starch won't dissolve completely. If you use a little more liquid, the sauce will be thinner — it's all a matter of taste. Stir the starch very thoroughly to avoid any lumps.

Step 3

Finely chop the garlic and slice the onion into thin wedges. Pour a couple of tablespoons of oil into the wok and place it over high heat. Asian tradition dictates that the oil should start to smoke before cooking begins. Once you see a wisp of black smoke, add the garlic and onion to the wok.

Step 4

Sauté the onion and garlic, stirring, for about fifteen to twenty seconds — just a short time, as the onion pieces should remain crunchy. Then add the crab meat to the wok and cook it for another thirty seconds, gently turning the claws from side to side.

Step 5

Drizzle the crab with soy and oyster sauces, and gently mix. Then, pour a cup of hot chicken broth into the wok. Allow about thirty seconds for the crab meat to absorb the flavors of the broth and sauces.

Step 6

Add a tablespoon of sugar to the wok and stir it into the broth. Gradually incorporate two tablespoons of cornstarch mixture. Pour it into the boiling liquid very carefully, in small portions, while continuously stirring to ensure the sauce thickens evenly. Keep the wok on the heat for another half a minute.

Step 7

Now it's time to taste the resulting sauce. If it seems too salty, overly concentrated, or sharp, you can dilute it with the remaining chicken broth. Once you achieve a flavor that you consider perfect for the sauce, use a slotted spoon to remove the crab and transfer it to a plate.

Step 8

Thicken the remaining sauce in the wok with a cornstarch solution: in Asia, it is common to bring it to a consistency similar to that of liquid jelly, but Europeans often prefer a lighter version. Drizzle the sauce over the crab claws, season with pepper to taste, and garnish the dish with a lime wedge.