Shanghai Drunken Hairy Crab (Zui Xie) — Rice Wine Preservation

Combine the Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, water, sugar, ginger, and chillies in a clean saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then remove from the heat and allow the brine to cool completely to room temperature. It should smell sharply of wine and carry a clean, sweet-saline aroma.

Scrub the live crabs thoroughly under cold running water, using a stiff brush to clean the shells, legs, and underbelly. Work quickly. The crabs must be alive and vigorous at this point — any that are already dead must be discarded without exception.

Place the cleaned live crabs into a sterilised, airtight jar or container large enough to submerge them fully. Pour the cooled brine over the crabs, ensuring complete submersion. Seal the container. This is where the dish lives or dies: the Shaoxing wine concentration must be sufficiently high — at least 60% of the total brine — and the crabs must be fully submerged, so that the alcohol kills and preserves the crab safely while seasoning the roe and fat throughout.

Refrigerate the sealed container for a minimum of 24 hours. For full flavour development, allow 48 hours; the brine may be left for up to 72 hours. Do not open the container before 24 hours have elapsed — the crab will be insufficiently preserved and seasoned. At 48 hours the roe and fat will have absorbed the wine and aromatics fully, and the brine itself will have taken on a deep, concentrated colour from the crab juices.

Remove the crabs from the brine and serve cold, whole or halved, directly from the jar. The roe of the female crab should be a firm, brilliant orange; the fat of the male crab a set, pale cream-white. The brine, once strained, may be reserved as a dipping sauce for other seafood.