SWEET & SPICY CYGILLAN CRAB
by MrJoeLuciano
We all know Ignis is pretty badass, which explains how he’s able to make this raw crab recipe on the fly, no problem. Its Earthen equivalent, ganjang gejang, is a traditional Korean dish so popular that there is an entire alley dedicated to it in Seoul!
Active cooking time: 2 hours. Total cooking time: 26 hours. Serves 3-4
Ingredients
6 live mature female Blue or Flower crabs
4 sheets nori, crushed
1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp ginger, finely chopped (12g)
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1⁄4 cup rice syrup (60mL)
3 fuji apples, peeled & chopped
1⁄4 cup parsley, finely chopped (5g)
3 green chili peppers, chopped
4 red chili peppers, chopped
21⁄4 cups tamari sauce (540mL)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (15mL)
5 cups water (1.2L)
2 green chili peppers, sliced (garnish)
sesame seeds (garnish)
Freeze crabs for 2 hours. Anything less and they will reanimate. Anything more will ruin the quality of the meat.
For marinade, combine nori, onion, ginger, garlic, rice syrup, apples, parsley, all peppers, tamari, vinegar, & water in a large heavy pot. On a medium-high heat, boil for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Bring heat to medium-low. Continue to boil for 1 hour. Stir occasionally.
Remove marinade from heat and pour through a strainer into another empty pot or large metal bowl. Return all ingredients caught by the strainer to original pot and mash out remaining juices. Strain once again into the bowl/pot containing the marinade. Set aside and let cool.
Remove crabs from freezer.The belly of the crab has a flap that resembles an apron. Pull the apron all the way back and twist off. Then grab the top shell (carapace) and separate from the body. Now trim eyes & antennas, and completely remove gills.
With a produce brush or a toothbrush under cold running water, scrub all parts of the crab clean. Make sure NOT to wash away the yellow tomalley and orange roe.
After cleaning all crabs, drain excess water and reassemble the carapace to the body.
Pour marinade into a large jar or sealable container. Submerge crabs in marinade and seal tight. If crabs float to the top, place a small heavy object on top of them to ensure they are completely submerged. Marinate for 24 hours.
Remove crabs from marinade and separate the carapace from the body. Arrange any way desired. Pour some marinade over crabs.
Garnish with sliced green chili peppers & sesame seeds.
Serve crabs cold with white rice & nori. Carapace can be used to mix rice, marinade, tomalley, and roe. Crush claws & legs to extract meat. Enjoy!
Creator: MrJoeLuciano (IG, Reddit)