秋蟹之死的N種想象

“天高葉紅時，賞秋吃螃蟹。”食蟹實在是一種時令性的享受。它具備了色、香、味、形、質所有的美食元素，明代文學家張岱就曾贊其曰：“食品不加鹽醋而五味全者，為蚶，為河蟹。”在這個注定肥美的季節，細細探究秋蟹的死亡之謎。

“When leaves turn red， enjoy autumn and crab.” Crab is a seasonal delicacy with nice color， aroma， taste， appearance， and texture， the essentials of Chinese cuisine. Zhang Dai， a Ming Dynasty scholar once said， “The only food that offers all five flavors without salt or vinegar are clams and crabs.” In this season of plenty， we will unveil the mystery of what the crabs die for.

The Chinese has a long history of eating crabs. Crabs were thought to be ugly and scary in the beginning， used sometimes to scare off evil spirits by people who hang crabs above their doors. “The first person who eat crab is admirable”， wrote Lu Xun， one of the greatest modern Chinese writers， “who else but a brave heart would dare？” According to the Book of Rites， that first person is an old woman living several thousand years ago in a small village of today’s Shandong Province. As the legend goes， crabs crawled all over the paddy fields of the village and ate all the grains. Infuriated， the villagers threw the crabs in boiled water in order to kill the pest. But one old woman noticed the “golden” crab roes， collected them， tasted at home， and found out it is delicious. So she cooked the crab roe into sauces with minced meat， scallion， garlic， and salt. As the oily sauce went popular， many households start to use it to cook rice or noodle， thus the earliest way of eating crabs. Thanks to this old woman， crab has become a household delicacy today.

Today’s crab lovers carry on the heritage. For cities like Shanghai and Hong Kong， crab eating has become part of their culinary culture. Eileen Chang once said that when she eat crab noodle in Hangzhou， she would only eat the toppings and drink up the soup. It is wasteful， but that is how this talented Shanghai woman expresses her love of crabs.

The Chinese is probably most meticulous when it comes to eating crabs. In his book Chi Zhu Er （or Foodie）， Wang Dunhuang uses 8 pages to describe how he eats a crab. He gives every part of the crab a special foodies’ name. In the book， he said that he and his family only eat plump or very plump crabs， with no tools but their hands， mouths， and claws of the crabs， but they peel clean and fast， and will not eat any part that is unclean or left in the shell. The west wind heralds the season of crab eating， as the saying goes， and the Chinese never ceases to explore new ways of cooking crabs.

● 浴火重生 Stir-fried Crabs

經歷烈火的煎熬和痛苦的考驗，蟹肉風味將會得到升華。這樣犧牲雖然悲壯，卻也創造了美味的巔峰。哪一種炒蟹的味道能瞬間點燃你的味蕾，酸辣滋味當仁不讓。向來金貴的大閘蟹總是以清水芙蓉的清蒸方式體現原汁原味，殊不知與這酸辣椒一同爆炒更是別有風情。通常爆炒大閘蟹時都要先過一遍油，令蟹殼變得酥脆、帶著油脂光澤，切不可過水，因為水會沖淡蟹的原汁原味，油溫高則可保證蟹肉口感細嫩。配料中要加入仔姜，這是因為蟹肉偏寒，仔姜不似老姜味道過于辛辣搶了蟹味，卻可起到驅寒暖胃的功效。烹飪一道完美的酸辣椒炒蟹，酸辣椒自然首當其沖。江西酸辣椒可謂烹蟹的神來之筆，這種酸辣椒不但顏色鮮艷、入口生津，還鮮香辣爽，直叫你食欲大增，與大閘蟹爆炒堪稱蟹菜的上佳之作。

Fire could elevate the taste of crab to a new level. The best way to stimulate your palate is to quick fry crabs with pickled chili， which could bring an exotic flavor to the crab meat. To make a quick fried crab， you need to first immerse the crab in heated oil quickly to make it crispy and wear a coating of oil before stir-frying it with tender ginger and pickled chili. Tender ginger is used to expel the cold in crab meat while not to overshadow the flavor of crab as old ginger would. The most important ingredient of course is pickled chili， the best of which are made in Jiangxi Province. With the bright-colored and appetizing pickled chili， the quick fired crab will be an appetizing dish.

● 溫柔一擊 Braised Crabs

秋季是菌類最好的季節，品種繁多，味道更濃。而螃蟹的肥美與菌湯的醇厚恰好相得益彰。菌湯烹蟹最重要的是火候，浸蟹過程中要用文火，這樣蟹肉才能受熱均勻，不會有的地方過熟，有的地方還生。與清蒸大閘蟹的原汁原味不同，這道菜雖然也是清淡口味，卻因為有了湯的滋潤，蟹肉軟滑得難以形容，一口湯一口蟹，一蟹兩吃的豐富口感被發揮得淋漓盡致。此外蟹與菌的搭配中，菌菇的處理也十分講究，名廚們會先將菌類過一遍油，去掉菌類本身的雜味，再用水洗掉油味，隨后再把菌與濃湯一同煲制。中餐當中每一種菜系都有自己特殊的風味，比如魯菜是注重醬香，川菜重辣味，而濃湯則是粵菜的靈魂。各種精華食材在恰到好處的火候與時間中變成渾厚的湯色和濃郁的滋味，蟹之美味最終的歸宿就在這溫柔濃郁的菌湯之中。

文人墨客筆下的蟹

Crab in the writings of literati

以美食家自居的李漁甚至曾寫道：“予于飲食之美，無一物不能言之，且無一物不窮其想象，竭其幽渺而言之，獨于蟹螯一物，終其身皆不能忘之……至其可嗜可甘與不可忘之故，則絕口不能形容。”更曾夸張地表示：“予嗜此一生，每歲于蟹未出時，即儲錢以待，因家人笑予以蟹為命，即自呼其錢為買命錢。”

Gourmet scholar Li Yu once wrote： “On the subject of culinary beauty， there is nothing that I could not write to great detail and to the best of imagination. But there is one thing that I would remember to the end of my life， that is crab claws…it is so addictively delicious and unforgettable that I could not put it properly in words. ” He claimed with exaggeration that “I am addicted to it my whole life that every year I would save money for the season of crabs. My family jokingly said I value crab as much as I value life， so I call my savings money for life.”

名著中的“螃蟹宴”

Crab Banquet in Classic Literature

說起“螃蟹宴”，人們一定會聯想到《紅樓夢》第38回《林瀟湘魁奪菊花詩，薛蘅蕪諷和螃蟹詠》里有趣熱鬧的一幕。這也正是曹雪芹對家道中落之前吃蟹賞菊的懷念。不過，這樣的生動描寫并非曹雪芹所獨創。在此之前的《金瓶梅》中就已經寫過“螃蟹宴”，不過筆調大不相同而已。該書第35回中寫到眾人圍吃螃蟹。月娘吩咐小玉：“屋里還有些葡萄酒，篩來與你娘每（們）吃。”金蓮快嘴，說道：“吃螃蟹，得些金華酒吃才好。”又道：“只剛一味螃蟹吃。”雖也熱鬧有趣，但畢竟沒有大觀園里的講究與風韻。

In Chapter 38 of the Dream of the Red Chamber - Lin Hsiao-Hsiang carries the first prize in the poems on chrysanthemums. Hsueh Heng-wu chaffs Pao-yü by composing verses in the same style as his on the crabs， Cao Xueqin， reminisced how his family enjoyed crabs while appreciating autumn scenes before his family went bankrupt. But he is not the first to wrote about crabs. In chapter 35 of The Plum In The Golden Vase， there is also a depiction of crab banquet， although with a different tone： Yue-niang told Xiao Yu： “There is still some wine in the house， pour some for your girls.” Jin-lian immediately cut in， “Crab goes better with Jinhua yellow rice wine.” She added， “We only have crabs.”

● 置之死地而后生 Processed Crabs

大閘蟹好吃，但無奈吃起來實在麻煩，于是便有了蟹粉菜。北方海邊，大家吃蟹就是清蒸，簡單而不失原味。在江南，吃蟹則更為講究，僅拆出的蟹粉就能做出很多花樣，蟹粉小籠包、蟹粉大湯包、蟹粉獅子頭、蟹粉豆腐羹等等都令人食指大動。所以說，南方人食蟹更婉約、更細致，僅看著就令人愜意。其中最受人喜愛的還數蟹粉小籠包，新鮮拆出的蟹粉，混入新鮮的豬肉做餡兒，食用時佐用鎮江陳醋和腌制姜絲。咬勁細膩層次豐富：前味鮮香，湯汁飽滿；中味厚重，面皮、蟹黃及肉味兒調和而各有千秋；后味綿長，蟹粉留香意猶未盡。

說到誰家蟹粉小籠包最為受老饕歡迎，臺灣老字號鼎泰豐當仁不讓，出身滿洲八旗著名美食家唐魯孫先生曾在《聯合早報》兩次贊美鼎泰豐的蟹粉小籠包：“無意中發現信義路口有家專門賣點心的鼎泰豐，他家的蟹粉湯包（蟹粉小籠包），蟹七肉三，毫不偷工減料……鵝黃溶漿，湯腴味正，比那些在包子縮口上摻一點咖喱，楞充蟹黃者完全兩樣……”

Crab roe cuisines have been invented to avoid the fuss of peeling crab shells. In Northern China， steaming is the main way of cooking crabs. But in the South， crab dishes take on more refined forms. Crab meat alone could be made into various food： steamed crab meat buns， steamed crab meat soup buns， meat balls topped with crab meat， and tofu topped with crab meat. The most popular of all is steamed crab meat buns. Filled with crab meat and minced pork， and served with Zhengjiang black vinegar and marinated ginger， the buns offer various layers of taste —first the aroma of the mellow soup， then the mixed flavor of crab meat and pork， and lastly a lingering taste of crab roe.

Din Tai Fung is the most popular restaurant for fans of steamed crab meat buns. Descendant of the royal family of China’s last dynasty and gourmet Mr. Tang Lusun praised the Taiwan-based restaurant twice on Lianhe Zaobao： “I came across this Dim Sum restaurant Din Tai Fung around the corner of Hsinyi Road. Its steamed crab meat soup buns are made of 70% crab meat and 30% pork， offering a yellow juice and a tasty soup. The restaurant never reduces or uses inferior food materials， so its buns are way better that those who sell fake buns topped with curry instead of crab meat.”

炒蟹粉

How to Stir Fry Crab Meat

老姜切成姜末備用。

炒鍋中放入較多豬油，用中小火加熱至融化，放入姜末煸香。

先放入蟹黃、蟹膏，煸炒至油色變黃。

然后放入蟹肉，并烹入1湯匙紹興黃酒。

加入適量清水。

輕輕翻炒至水分略干，放入少許鹽拌勻即可。

Cut old ginger into pieces

Mildly heat pork oil until it melts and put in the ginger pieces until its aroma comes out

Put in crab roe and crab cream and stir fry until the oil turns yellow

Put in crab meat and a spoonful yellow rice wine

Add some water

Slowed stir to drain some water， add some salt and mix evenly.● 醉生夢死 Drunken Crabs

對于生命歸宿，醉死夢中可以說是一種極具美感的結局。在蟹菜中也有這么一道風雅的菜色，它不似清蒸大閘蟹般清新，也不似咖喱蟹般濃烈，清清淡淡卻回味悠長，引人入勝。中國到處都有出名的醉蟹：山東微山湖的用糯米酒做的醉蟹，江蘇興化的用當地甜米酒泡的不放糖的醉蟹，安徽屯溪的用封缸酒和蒜腌制的醉蟹……不過其中最有名的，當數紹興的醉蟹。

紹興醉蟹，不論螃蟹還是用來腌蟹的母子醬油與黃酒，都必須是本地出品。首先，蟹不能太大，需1～2兩左右一只的，太大則味道腌不進去，而且所用必須為雌蟹，雌蟹做醉蟹，里面的“石榴子”黃黃的，口感特別好。其次，配料一定要放得多，特別是生姜和蒜，那樣才能祛除螃蟹的寒氣，還原蟹之濃香。最后，腌制的時間非常講究，時間太短則殘有蟹腥味，腌得太久蟹黃又會散掉，所以腌蟹必須經驗老道。

這道話梅熗清水蟹選用當地的老毛蟹，用傳統方法熟醉。蒸熟的老毛蟹浸在加了黃酒、話梅、陳皮的秘制腌料中浸泡12小時，蟹肉蟹黃都有話梅的清香，正好中和了螃蟹之膩，口感甘甜無腥，蟹肉肥厚飽滿，嫩到蟹肉、蟹黃用舌頭輕輕一吸即可出來，個中滋味唯有親自試之才可領會。

When it comes to death， die drunken could be a romantic way. That is how drunken crab is inspired. Unlike steamed crab or curry crab， drunken crab is neither too light nor too strong， yet it offers a lingering taste. Many places in China are known for their drunken crabs— the sticky rice wine drunken crab of Weishan Lake， Shandong； the sweet rice wine drunken crab of Xinhua， Zhejiang； and the garlic drunken crab of Tunxi， Anhui. But the most famous one is the drunken crab of Shaoxin.

Shaoxin Drunken Crab is made of local crabs， soy sauce and yellow rice wine. The locals would only select female crabs for its tasty roes， the weight of which is between 50g and 100g because it is easier to get fully marinated. Ingredients， in particular ginger and garlic are used in large quantity to counteract the cold and highlight the original flavor of crabs. Timing is important for marination， because if too short， it will taste fishy， if too long， the roe would fall apart.

Stir Fried Drunken Crab with Plum is made by stir-frying drunken crab marinated for 12 hours in yellow rice wine， plum， and dried tangerine peel. The aroma of plum would penetrate the meat and roe， making it so tender that you can suck the meat and roe out with the help of your tongue.