Crayfish in Spiced Bean Paste

Ingredients

• 2 jin (approximately 1 kg) crayfish
• 70 ml oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 star anise
• 3 g cinnamon bark
• 10 g Sichuan pepper (green)
• 10 g Sichuan pepper
• 5 g bullet chilli peppers
• 1 large stalk spring onion
• 30 g ginger
• 7 cloves garlic
• 30 g Pixian bean paste
• 30 g soybean sauce
• 500 ml beer
• 30 ml light soy sauce
• 10 g salt

Method

Clean the crayfish by brushing them under cold water, then split each lengthwise along the belly and remove the dark intestinal tract. This prevents grit and off-flavours fouling the braising liquid. Cut the spring onion into 2 cm lengths, keeping white and green parts separate. Crush the ginger with the side of your knife — don't mince it yet — and smash the garlic cloves whole. You want surface area for the oil to carry their volatile compounds, not a paste.

Heat the 70 ml oil in a wok or large heavy pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the bay leaves, star anise, cinnamon bark, both Sichuan peppers, and bullet chillies. You're performing aromatic-infusion here: the heat ruptures the cell walls of the spices, releasing their essential oils into the fat. Wait 90 seconds until the fragrance becomes sharp and almost aggressive — this is your cue to stop. Add the white parts of the spring onion, the crushed ginger, and garlic cloves. Stir constantly for 45 seconds. The aromatics will soften and lose their raw edge as maillard-reaction begins on their surfaces.

Add the Pixian bean paste and soybean sauce and break them up with your spoon, stirring for 2–3 minutes until the oil takes on a deep rust-red colour and the paste no longer smells raw. This is fermented-condiment bloom — you're cooking out the harsh alcohol notes in the paste and developing complexity. Add the crayfish and turn each piece to coat thoroughly. They'll firm up and take on a slight copper-red tint within a minute. Pour in the beer — the alcohol will deglaze the wok and provide acidity that cuts the richness of the sauce. Bring to a rolling boil, add the light soy sauce and salt, then reduce to a gentle simmer.

Cook uncovered for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the crayfish flesh pulls cleanly from the shell and the sauce has reduced by about a quarter. Fish out the larger spices — the cinnamon, star anise, bay leaves — if you prefer cleaner eating. The Sichuan peppers and chillies can stay; they've given what they have. Serve in the sauce, with the cooking liquid mopped up with rice or steamed bread. The umami comes from the layering of fermented bean paste, soy, and the natural glutamates in the shellfish stock that built during cooking.