Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs

The Mid-Autumn Festival is an occasion where the family assembles, yet for anglers residing around Yangcheng Lake, it's likewise the beginning of the year's gather.

The gathering of Chinese hairy crabs (eriocheir sinensis) in Yangcheng Lake in Baicheng Town of Kunshan, East China's Jiangsu region starts on Sept 21 with a service.

From that date till the finish of December, new stout goldenclaw crabs are conveyed to dinning tables all over China.

Chinese hairy crabs from Yangcheng Lake are otherwise called huge conduit crabs, which are known for their sweet meat.

Zhan Zhiming, the bad habit leader cook of the Noise Tai Fung chain of eateries, appreciates getting crabs.

Zhan, who used to get wild crabs in Taiwan when he was youthful, says: "The crabs in Yangcheng Lake chomp harder as they are very much taken care of."

Yangcheng Lake gives sufficient daylight to water plants to develop, giving sufficient food to the crabs, and the level and hard lake bed make an ideal spot for the crabs to flourish.

"The crabs have white paunches and brilliant hooks," says Zhan.

"We normally source male crabs which weigh in excess of 200 grams, and female ones weighing in excess of 150 grams."

Clamor Tai Fung has taken up a piece of Yangcheng Lake to raise its own crabs.

"After various preliminaries, we sorted out some way to raise crabs appropriately," says Zhan. "They need to eat new fish, or little shrimp."

Noise Tai Fung is famous for its steamed dumplings, which Zhan has dominated after years' training. Presently, he can make eight dumplings every moment, each with 18 folds.

At Noise Tai Fung, the crab meat and roe dumplings are the most famous.

The fillings include 70% crab meat and roe and 30 percent pork, with the cut ginger and vinegar plunge adding the last touch.

As per Zhan, the crab meat and roe in the fillings comes from Chinese hairy crabs in Yangcheng Lake.

Talking about the café's other crab dishes, Zhan says every one is intended to feature the kind of both the crab meat and different fixings.

"Take seared crab meat and roe with asparagus for example－the asparagus has both a sweet and unpleasant flavor, however after it is broiled with crab meat and roe, its pleasantness gets raised and the sharpness is gone," says Zhan.

The crab meat and roe dishes include a tremendous measure of work. Furthermore, each Noise Tai Fung eatery has a group of around 40 just breaking the crabs and getting the meat and roe out.

"It's collaboration. One individual tears the crab into various pieces－claws, shells, or breasts－and places each part in various compartment," says the 40-year-old.

Then, at that point, in the subsequent step each part must be broken and the meat taken out with various apparatuses.

Five to six culinary specialists join hand to tear each crab.

"It (breaking the crabs) may appear to be a little work, yet everything about to be done well, for example, to control the temperature－if the room gets too hot or too chilly, the crab will lose its shape.

"Every (eatery) group needs to manage many kilograms of crabs every day, in some cases, in excess of a ton," says Zhan.

Crab tofu

Ingredients

Two crabs, one box of delicate tofu, one shallot, ginger 5 grams, one tablespoon fluid starch, one tablespoon yellow wine, one teaspoon salt, one table spoon oil

1. Wash and steam the crabs, choose the crab meat and crab roe

2. Cut the crab meat and crab roe and combine them as one

3. Cut the tofu into 1.5 centimeter squares

4. Heat up a pot of water, adds a teaspoon salt and put the tofu into the water. Switch off the intensity and take the tofu out

5. Heat oil in a skillet, add shallots and ground ginger

6. Put crab meat and roe into the skillet, and add yellow wine and water

7. Heat up the water and go to medium intensity. At the point when the crab meat gives out its umami flavor, add tofu and bubble for three minutes

8. Add salt and fluid starch, and afterward switch off the intensity