Korean
Gejang — Raw Soy-Marinated Crab (게장)
Gejang (게장) is raw blue swimming crab marinated in either ganjang (간장게장, soy gejang) or gochugaru-yangnyeom (양념게장, spiced gejang), a tradition sometimes called 'rice thief' (밥도둑) for its appetite-stimulating power. The raw crab — specifically Portunus trituberculatus (blue swimming crab, 꽃게) — is not cooked but 'cold-processed' by the salt content of the marinade over 3–12 hours for yangnyeom gejang, or 3–7 days for soy gejang. The result is silky, almost liquid crab meat that slides from the shell and is eaten with rice. The crab roe (내장, naejang) in the shell is the prize: a creamy, intensely savoury paste.
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Four not yet within reach.
How the 4 are reached
- Not yet within reach
- 4 · blue swimming crab (Portunus trituberculatus, 꽃게), ganjang (Korean soy sauce, 간장), asian pear or apple, fresh ginger
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
4
Blue swimming crab (Portunus trituberculatus, 꽃게)
live or just-killed; female crabs with roe (암게) strongly preferred
Not yet within reach of Duncan · each reach is counted
For the soy marinade
500 ml
Ganjang (Korean soy sauce, 간장)
Not yet within reach of Duncan · each reach is counted
250 ml
Water
Your own market
1
Asian pear or apple
peeled, roughly chopped
Origin · New ZealandNot yet within reach of Duncan · each reach is counted
1 head
Garlic
cloves lightly crushed
Your own market
30 g
Fresh ginger
sliced
Origin · New ZealandNot yet within reach of Duncan · each reach is counted
2
Fresh red chilli
halved lengthways
Your own market
Within reach counts in town, delivered, shipped and the nearest city. A staple counts once it has a local seller. Charted from each shop's own pages; not yet vouched by a cook who shops here.
The larder of Duncan →II
The Method
1
Source live or just-killed blue swimming crab and proceed within 2 hours of death, so the flesh has not had time to slacken and sour from the inside out. Rinse each crab under cold running water, remove the carapace, discard the gills, and clean the body cavity, taking care to preserve the roe (내장, naejang) intact inside the shell, then halve the body through the centre. The cleaned crab should smell clean and of the sea — any ammonia or sourness signals unsalvageable deterioration.
2
Combine the ganjang, water, garlic, ginger, chilli, and pear in a saucepan and bring to a full boil, then remove from the heat — boiling drives off the raw, acrid edge of the aromatics and lets the pear's sweetness marry into the brine rather than sit on top of it. Allow the marinade to cool completely to room temperature before it touches the crab, so the heat does not begin to cook the flesh and rob it of its silky, raw character. It should carry a clean, sweet-savoury aroma with no raw edge remaining.
3
Arrange the cleaned crab pieces in a clean, non-reactive container roe-side up, so the naejang sits cupped in the shell and stays submerged rather than floating loose and exposed. Pour the fully cooled marinade over the crab, ensuring all pieces are submerged, then cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. The marinade will begin to take on a paler, slightly diluted colour as moisture is drawn from the crab.
4
On day two, pour off the marinade into the saucepan, bring it back to a full boil, then cool completely — because re-boiling re-concentrates the brine that the crab has diluted, so each subsequent cycle drives flavour deeper into the flesh rather than merely sitting on its surface. Pour the re-concentrated marinade over the crab again and refrigerate for a further 24 hours. Repeat once more on day three — two to three repetitions in total — and each cycle the marinade will deepen in colour and the crab flesh will firm, then relax into its characteristic silky texture.
5
After the final cycle, bring the gejang to room temperature before serving, so the roe softens from its fridge-cold set into the creamy, yielding paste it should be at the table. The crab meat should slide freely from the shell with a silky, near-liquid quality, and the roe inside the carapace will have set into an intensely savoury paste. Serve the crab body and carapace over or alongside hot steamed rice; hold the carapace over the rice bowl and scoop the roe paste directly onto the rice with chopsticks, then pour the reserved marinade over the rice as desired.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Live female blue swimming crab (암게) from the Yellow Sea, particularly Yeosu-region stock, with full, intact roe; traditional Korean house-brewed ganjang (집간장) aged a minimum of three years.
02
Estate — Live female Portunus trituberculatus sourced from a reputable fish market that day; good-quality Korean brewed ganjang from a single producer.
03
Market — Live male blue swimming crab, or female crab with partial roe; standard commercial Korean ganjang. The roe paste will be less pronounced but the soy marinade remains valid.
04
House — Fresh-killed (not frozen) crab processed immediately; any well-salted Korean-style soy sauce. Frozen crab is excluded at all rungs — freezing disrupts cell structure and produces watery flesh that cannot hold the marinade.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Smell. Raw cleaned crab smells cleanly of the sea with no ammonia or sourness — any off-note disqualifies the crab before marinating begins.
◇Smell. Cooled marinade carries a sweet-savoury, gently spiced aroma; no harsh raw soy edge remains before it is poured over the crab.
◇Sight. After each marinade cycle the liquid is visibly darker and slightly more concentrated; the crab flesh shifts from translucent-raw to a paler, semi-opaque silky appearance.
◇Touch. At service, crab meat releases from the shell with almost no resistance, sliding free in a single silky motion; the roe paste is soft and spreadable, not grainy or stiff.
◇Where it lives or dies. The dish lives or dies on crab freshness: gejang made from crab dead more than two hours carries both food-safety risk (Vibrio) and irreversible flavour loss — only live or just-killed crab produces the characteristic silky texture and clean, briny sweetness the dish requires.
Pillar V
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Baijiu
From British Columbia
Beer
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The working kitchen