Ma La Xiao Long Xia (Spicy Crawfish / Crayfish)
The late-night stall is a bright red mountain! Crayfish enthusiasts all over China
Description
Consumed by the tens of thousands of tons across China on summer nights as the ultimate beer snack. A massive mountain of Crawfish (Xiao Long Xia) violently boiled in copious oil, Chongqing Hot Pot spices, and 'beer'. The ultimate junk seafood.
Restaurants serving Ma La Xiao Long Xia (Spicy Crawfish / Crayfish)
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We are researching restaurants that serve this dish.
On this site you can check dictionary details and, later, places to buy or eat related items.
The Recipe section below is a general reference, not a recipe from the listed shops.
Recipe
Ingredients
- Live Crawfish
- Dried chilies(massive)
- Sichuan peppercorn
- Doubanjiang
- Beer
- Garlic
- Ginger
Instructions
- [Authentic Recipe]
- Soak live crawfish in fresh water to purge mud. Vigorously scrub their bellies white with a toothbrush. Twist the middle tail fin to pull the digestive tract, and snip the gills (prep is everything).
- Heat a massive amount of oil (half-submerging the crawfish) in a wok and flash-fry until the shells turn brilliant red.
- Drain some oil, then fry garlic, ginger, massive dried chilies, Sichuan pepper, star anise, and Doubanjiang to bleed red oil.
- Return crawfish. The ultimate secret: Pour in 'Beer' instead of water (beer tenderizes the meat and kills the swamp odor).
- Season with soy, sugar, salt. Cover and boil violently for
- mins.
- Toss in cucumber/celery at the end, and serve piled high on a massive platter covered in the red oil sauce.
Learn more Spice, substitutes, tips
Key spices
Ma La flavor from Doubanjiang/Sichuan pepper、Beer depth
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
Shell-on Vannamei shrimp (but shell hardness differs)
Pairing
Cold Beer(by the mug)
Trivia
[Trivia] Exploded among Chinese youth as 'the ultimate social food because your hands are too dirty to touch your phone, forcing you to talk'. The absurdly low meat-to-effort ratio is part of the fun.
Eating tips & etiquette
[Unique Eating] Everyone puts on 'plastic gloves'. Rip the head off, suck out the yellow 'tomalley (mustard)' inside, then peel the hard tail shell and dip the thumb-sized meat directly into the fiery sauce.
Allergen
Shrimp (Crustacean allergy caution), Soybeans, Wheat