This is just about the best crab soup I have ever tasted, and it’s also the easiest. (One of the messiest, too; you must eat the crab with your hands.) At its base is miso, combined with go chu jang, a red pepper paste mixed with beans, kind of a spicy version of hoisin sauce. If you live anywhere near a Korean market, you’ll find it; if not, use hoisin mixed with Tabasco. Buy the crabs live and have them cleaned and chopped up by the fishmonger. Or follow the directions for cleaning them in step 1.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 4 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
If you must clean the crabs yourself, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Plunge the crabs in and cook for just a minute. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water. Working over a bowl (and saving any liquids or soft parts of the crab that come out during cleaning), break off the “apron,” the triangle of shell on the crab’s bottom, then remove the upper shell entirely (save any innards attached to it). On each side of the crab you will find the gills—spongy and off-white—remove and discard. Now cut the crab into quarters. To make eating easier, use the back of your knife to crack the claws.
Step 2
In a saucepan, whisk the next 4 ingredients with 1 quart water; bring to a boil, stirring. Add the crabs, cover, and cook at a steady boil for about 20 minutes; during the last 5 minutes of cooking, add any parts of the crab you reserved during cleaning.
Step 3
Serve the broth with a few pieces of crab in it; when people have eaten the crabs, clean up the shells and add the rice to the broth. Eat the rice.
