Mala Crayfish

Brush the 1000 g supplier-dispatched raw whole crayfish under clean water, especially the underside and joints. Rinse until no visible grit remains, drain and blot dry. Keep raw and cooked utensils separate; a brief salt-and-oil soak does not replace cleaning.

Lightly crush 8 garlic cloves and slice 20 g ginger. Separate the whites and greens of 20 g spring onion; cut the whites into lengths and chop the greens. Cut 10 g dried chilies into segments and set out 3 g peppercorns. Finely chop 25 g doubanjiang and cut 30 g hot pot base into small pieces.

Heat 40 ml oil in a wok over medium-low heat. Add all the garlic, ginger and scallion whites; stir-fry for about 1–2 minutes until fragrant and the garlic edges are lightly golden. Add all the chilies and peppercorns and stir over low heat for about 20–30 seconds, without blackening the chilies.

Add all 25 g doubanjiang and 30 g hot pot base. Stir over low heat for about 1–2 minutes until the base melts and the oil turns red. Keep scraping the bottom; stop heating if it smells scorched so burnt paste is not carried into the next step.

Raise the heat to medium-high and add all the drained crayfish. Stir-fry for about 2–3 minutes to coat the shells as they begin turning red. Red shells alone do not establish that the meat is cooked.

Pour in 330 ml beer and 200 ml water. Add 15 ml light soy sauce and 5 g sugar; stir and bring to a boil. Cover and maintain a steady simmer over medium-low heat for about 12–15 minutes, turning once. Check a large tail: the meat must be fully opaque and firm, with its center at least 63°C. Continue cooking and recheck if needed; time alone is not the endpoint.

Once the meat is cooked, uncover and stir over medium-high heat for about 2–4 minutes until the sauce lightly coats the shells, with a little flowing sauce left. Stop earlier if it is already concentrated; do not dry it out. Turn off the heat, fold in all the scallion greens and transfer to the light-brown textured plate. Serve hot.