Hot and Sour Mud Crab Hot Pot

Preparing the crabs
– For a delicious hot and sour crab hot pot, choosing and preparing the crabs is very important. When choosing crabs for hot pot, go for ones full of roe; they're tastier than meaty crabs. Above all, buy them from a reputable place to make sure they're top quality.

– Once home, soak and wash the crabs well. Next, remove the top shells, scoop the roe into a separate bowl, then cut the crabs in half. Rinse the crab pieces once more with water!

Rinse the pork marrow bones in cold water with a little salt, then chop them into pieces and blanch briefly in boiling water to clean them.

– Then put the bones in a pot with 3 – 4 l of water and simmer for about 2 hours so they release their sweetness.

– When done, lift the bones out into a separate bowl, and season the broth with a little more salt, MSG and grilled shallots to make it fragrant.

– Soak the dried shrimp and dried squid in warm water for about 15 minutes to soften, then rinse thoroughly. Tear the dried squid into thin strips and leave the dried shrimp whole. Dried shrimp and squid give the crab broth a rich sweetness.

– Trim the stems of the straw mushrooms, wash them and drain in a basket. Cut the roots off the enoki mushrooms, soak them in lightly salted water, rinse again and drain.

– Peel the onion and cut it into wedges; wash the tomatoes and cut them into wedges too. Peel and finely mince the shallots and garlic. Wash the chilies, remove the stems and crush them.

– Break the broccoli into small florets, soak in salt water for about 1 minute, then rinse and drain.

– Pick over the water spinach, Malabar spinach and garland chrysanthemum, discarding any damaged or wilted leaves, then soak in lightly salted water, rinse and drain.

For the most delicious result, here's the secret to making the hot and sour crab broth. Follow these steps:

– Once the prepared crabs have drained, marinate them with 1 tablespoon of minced shallots, 1 tablespoon of finely minced garlic, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 tablespoon of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper. Toss well and leave for about 30 minutes to absorb the seasoning.

– Then heat a pan with 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. When the oil is hot, fry the minced shallots and garlic until fragrant. Next, add the crab roe and stir-fry briefly, then add the dried squid and dried shrimp and stir-fry until cooked, then tip everything into the pot of broth. Do the same with the straw mushrooms as with the crab roe.

– Put the pot of broth on the stove and bring to the boil. When it boils, add the crabs and cook until done. Once the crabs are cooked, add the tomatoes and onion. The tomatoes give your crab broth a natural sourness. Then add a little chili sate sauce and crushed fresh chilies for heat. Finally, season with salt, sugar, MSG and seasoning powder to taste.

– Once the broth is ready, arrange the fresh rice vermicelli on a plate, and put the water spinach, Malabar spinach and garland chrysanthemum in a basket or arrange them nicely on a large plate. Prepare a small bowl of salt, pepper and lime for dipping the crab, and it's perfect.

– Set the hot pot on a portable gas stove or hot pot burner. When it comes back to the boil, lift the crab out onto a separate plate, then add the enoki mushrooms and the hot pot greens a little at a time. Now just wait for the greens to cook and enjoy.

Enjoy cooking this hot and sour mud crab hot pot and treating the whole family!