Crayfish in Spicy Bean Paste

Ingredients

• 2 jin crayfish
• 70 ml oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 star anise
• 3 g cinnamon bark
• 10 g green sichuan pepper
• 10 g sichuan pepper
• 5 g bullet chilli
• 1 spring onion
• 30 g ginger
• 7 cloves garlic
• 30 g doubanjiang (broad bean and chilli paste)
• 30 g yellow soybean paste
• 500 ml beer
• 30 ml soy sauce
• 10 g salt

Method

Clean the crayfish under cold running water, then pinch the central tail fin and twist it sharply to extract the intestinal tract — a black vein will pull free with it. Pat dry. Halve the spring onion lengthways, then cut into 3 cm lengths. Slice the ginger into thin coins without peeling. Crush the garlic cloves lightly.

The principle here is spice-blending through infused oil. Heat 70 ml neutral oil over a medium flame — not smoking, just shimmering — and scatter in the bay leaves, star anise, cinnamon bark, and both sichuan peppers (green and red). The green sichuan pepper will numbing fizzle and release aromatics within 90 seconds; follow immediately with the bullet chillies. When the oil turns fragrant and slightly darkened, add the spring onion, ginger, and garlic. Stir constantly for 45 seconds — you're not cooking them tender, just releasing their volatile compounds into the fat.

Add both pastes — doubanjiang and yellow soybean paste — as a slurry. The fermented fermented-condiments base is what carries this dish. Stir vigorously for 2-3 minutes until the oil turns distinctly red and separates from the paste. This one-pot-cooking technique depends on that emulsification; if the oil refuses to separate, your heat is too low. When you see beads of chilli-red oil pooling on the surface, add the crayfish and toss to coat. They'll turn from grey-blue to coral within two minutes — don't oversell this stage.

Pour in 500 ml beer and bring to a rolling boil. The alcohol burns off within 30 seconds but carries fat-soluble flavours deeper into the meat. Add soy sauce and salt, reduce to a gentle simmer, and cover. Crayfish flesh is delicate and toughens fast; 6-8 minutes is enough for the shells to flush fully orange and the meat to firm. Check the largest one by cracking the underside of the tail — the flesh should pull cleanly from the shell, not cling or feel tacky.

Serve in the cooking liquid, discarding any crayfish that remained closed. The broth is essential — spoon it over rice to carry the numbing heat and deep umami of the pastes through to the finish.