Meat Crab Pot (Rou Xie Bao)

Meat Crab Pot (Rou Xie Bao)

Meat Crab Pot (Rou Xie Bao) is a home-style seafood dish at difficulty 4/5 (Advanced), about 2111 kcal. This dish has a rich, savory sauce. Ingredients and step-by-step instructions are below, with notes for home cooking.

Difficulty

4 / 5

★★★★☆

Advanced
Estimated Calories

2111 kcal

Ingredients

  • Meat crab (Priority order recommended from high to low: Myanmar Black Crab, Grass Crab, Swimming Crab, Hairy Crab)
  • Shrimp (Optional)
  • Potatoes
  • Rice cakes (Require hard rice cakes, fresh ones work too)
  • Onion
  • Garlic
  • Ginger
  • Dried chili peppers
  • Green bell pepper
  • Red bell pepper
  • Oyster sauce
  • Seafood sauce (Optional)
  • Broad bean paste (Optional)
  • Sweet bean sauce (Or BBQ sauce, Optional)
  • Ketchup (If not available, squeeze half a tomato and crush it)
  • Starch (Cornstarch or potato starch)
  • Rock Sugar / Iced Sugar
  • Chicken bouillon powder
  • White pepper
  • Cooking wine (Can be substituted with Chinese Yellow Wine)
  • Light soy sauce
  • Dark soy sauce
  • Beer
  • Water

Steps

  1. Cube the potatoes into 3cm cubes. Cut the green/red peppers into 4cm rhombus slices. Slice the onion into 3cm crescent wedges. Slice the rice cakes to 1cm thickness.
  2. Cut the crab into 50-80g chunks, coat lightly in starch, and deep fry at 180°C for 1 minute before removing.
  3. Heat oil in the pot, stir-fry garlic, ginger, and dried chilies until fragrant. Add all sauces + rock sugar and stir-fry on low heat until a red oil forms. Be careful not to burn the bottom of the pot.
  4. Add the crab, potatoes, beer, and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 12 minutes.
  5. Add the rice cakes and green/red peppers. Turn the heat up to high to reduce the sauce until it coats the ingredients. Finally, sprinkle with white pepper.

Notes

This dish has a rich, savory sauce. The crab meat is sweet and slightly spicy, the potatoes are soft and glutinous, and the rice cakes have a chewy (Q) texture. The sauce mixed with rice is extremely satisfying. It is a staple dish suitable for gatherings. It is rich in high-quality protein and various trace elements, making it nutritionally beneficial. The preparation requires a certain skill level, involving handling live crabs, controlling the heat, and balancing seasonings. It is slightly challenging for beginners, and the entire process takes approximately 1 hour.

Estimated Cooking Difficulty: ★★★★
Estimated Calories: 2111 kcal

Calculations:
You need to determine how many portions you plan to make before cooking. One portion is enough for 3-4 people.

Per portion:

- Meat Crab: 500 g
- Shrimp: 200 g
- Potatoes: 450 g
- Rice Cakes: 200 g
- Onion: 100 g
- Garlic: 20 g (Add 10 g if putting in shrimp)
- Ginger: 15 g
- Dried Chilies: 5 g
- Green Pepper: 30 g
- Red Pepper: 30 g
- Oyster Sauce: 20 g
- Edible Oil: 30-50 ml (Add 10 ml if putting in shrimp; 500 ml extra for deep frying)
- Seafood Sauce: 15 g (Sub: 12 g Oyster sauce + 3 g White sugar)
- Broad Bean Paste: 15 g (Sub: 12 ml Light soy sauce + 2 ml Dark soy sauce + 1 g White sugar)
- Sweet Bean Sauce: 10 g (Sub: 5.5 g White sugar + 4 ml Light soy sauce + 0.5 ml Dark soy sauce)
- Ketchup: 10 g
- Starch: 40 g
- Rock Sugar: 10 g
- Chicken Bouillon Powder: 3 g
- White Pepper: 2 g (Add 1 g if putting in shrimp)
- Cooking Wine: 15 ml
- Light Soy Sauce: 20 ml
- Dark Soy Sauce: 5 ml
- Beer: 200 ml (Add 50-100 ml if putting in shrimp)
- Water: 800 ml (Add 200 ml if putting in shrimp)

- Suggest freezing the crab for 20 minutes to induce anesthesia (Don't freeze until hard!), or stab the mouthpiece with chopsticks to destroy the nervous system.
- If using frozen crabs, the legs tend to fall off easily after full thawing and can cause meat loss. It is recommended to wrap in powder and deep fry after semi-thawing, and extend deep frying time to 2 minutes.
- If the stove power is low, the oil temperature drops rapidly after adding ingredients. It is recommended to preheat oil to 200°C and fry in multiple batches.
- Must remove the crab stomach (triangular bag), crab gills, and crab heart (hexagonal white slice).
- Must wipe the starch-coated crab dry before putting it in the pan; hot oil meeting water causes splattering.
- Dead crabs are absolutely not to be used (except for store-bought frozen ones, but those解冻 not used immediately are also unacceptable).
- Do not consume with persimmons or strong tea.
- Caution for those with gout.
- After slicing rice cakes, soak in cold water; rinsing them before putting them in the pot prevents sticking. Putting them on the top layer (not sinking to the bottom) prevents sticking/burning.
- If you get pinched by a crab or burned by the steam, first rinse with cold water for 15 minutes. If serious, seek medical attention promptly; if the wound is deep, seeking medical attention is a must.

If you find problems with the flow of this tutorial or can suggest improvements, please open an Issue or Pull Request.

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