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1
Chill the live crabs in the coldest part of the refrigerator for 30–45 minutes until they are dormant and immobile. Dispatch them cleanly and quickly: remove the carapace, discard the gills and stomach sac, and rinse the body briefly under cold water. Chop each body into four pieces through the shell. Crack the claws with the back of a heavy cleaver so the marinade can penetrate. The flesh should be translucent, firm, and smell of clean sea — any off odour disqualifies the crab entirely.
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2
Combine the soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, garlic, and chilli in a non-reactive container large enough to hold all the crab pieces in a near-single layer. Stir to integrate. Taste: the marinade should read briny and forceful, as it will be tempered by the moisture of the crab.
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3
Add the crab pieces to the marinade, turning each piece to coat thoroughly. Press the pieces down so they are submerged as fully as possible. Seal the container tightly and place in the refrigerator. This is the step on which the dish lives or dies: the crab must be submerged in the marinade for a minimum of 24 hours and no longer than 48 — 24 hours yields a rare, almost translucent result; 48 hours produces flesh that is more fully marinated and set. Beyond 48 hours the flesh turns mealy and the delicacy is lost. Turn the pieces once at the halfway point.
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4
At the end of marination, remove the container from the refrigerator. The flesh should have changed from raw translucency to a semi-opaque, custard-like set that yields slightly under gentle pressure from a fingertip — it should not feel raw and slick, nor firm and mealy.
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5
Arrange the pieces on a cold serving plate directly from the marinade, spooning some of the liquid — with its garlic and chilli — over the top. Serve immediately and cold; no further cooking is applied.