Steamed Crabs

Ingredients:

live crabs
wok + steamer stand
ginger
seasoned vinegar (Chekiang or sushi variety)

Instructions:






1. Keep the live crabs lively in a bucket or sink full of cold water. This is to let them excrete before being cooked. (My mom's alternative method: stick a wooden chopstick up their butts and leave them hanging out in the sink until cooking time).












































2. Bring water to a boil in the wok. Put the steamer stand and a large dish (Pyrex, for instance) in it. Place the crabs in the dish and cover. Steam for 25 minutes, until the crabs are completely red.





3. Thinly cut strips of ginger, and put into a dipping bowl with the vinegar. This is the sauce for the meat and crab brains (a.k.a. crab cholesterol, as Winston once corrected me) that are found in the shell.

**N.B.: Never cook dead crabs! They must be kept alive until you steam them.