Ginger root, scallion, and garlic are probably the hardest working "herb" in Southern Chinese cooking. They are so versatile in their use and you are unlikely to find an Asian household does not have some.
Sometimes we take things so much for granted. In my case is the excellent dungeness crabs here in the Pacific Northwest. They are cheap, so tasty, meaty, succulent and is sustainable. For years I have been eating them the typical Western method - steam or boil and dip in melted butter.
While I was pretty well versed with the cooking technique of the Cantonese dish of using ginger and scallion somehow I did not want to deal with the mess of having to chop up the crab into small pieces before cooking. It involves messier preparation if you clean the crab yourself.
In my earnest pursue in recent years of diverse cooking of all Asian cuisine I eventually gave this dish a try. A try it was and since my first attempt it is now my preferred way of preparing dungeness crab. The ginger and scallion really brings out the best of the crab. There is no such thing as too much ginger and scallion and I use a lot. Thicken by the cornstarch the tasty juice of the crab clings to the crab pieces and using your fingers is the best way to eat this dish unless you with your first date.
Only if people in Hong Kong has access to dungeness crabs, they would certainly go gagas over the local smaller crabs. The crabs in Hong Kong are much smaller and not so as meaty or as succulent.
Today I was in my Chinese fish monger. I was considering buying a lobster. Being budget conscious I decided a dungeness crab delivers bigger bang for the buck. I bought a big one. My fish monger charge more per pound for the large ones. I brought the whole live crab home and kept it in the fridge until I am ready to cook it for dinner.
still frigid, he did not know what is coming
I prefer to clean (and cut) all seafood myself because I can do a better job and waste less. In the case of crab I capture the precious juice which I use it for cooking the dish.
a job not for the timid home cook - i prefer to use a wooden chopping board if i have one; you want a cheap one for this purpose; the plastic one is too hard for the knife edge
that are all the garnishes used - i use the good quality chinese rice "wine"
a lot for one person - the shell is more for presentation
this may not be a dinner you want to have with your date before the concert at the Lincoln Center - it is messily delicious
mañana - save the battle for next day
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