Ingredients
For the Marinade
- 3 (5×5 inch) sheets dried kelp (kombu)
- 1.5 small onions, sliced
- 1.5 small apples, sliced
- 3 Korean peppers, sliced
- 7-8 cloves garlic
- 1.5 tablespoons fresh ginger, sliced
- 4-5 dried red chili peppers
- 3 cups low-sodium soy sauce
- 9 cups water
- 1/3 cup rice syrup, or sugar
- 1/3 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/3 teaspoon MSG
For the Crabs & Garnish
- 3 lbs live blue crabs, preferably female
- Sliced red or green peppers
- Chopped green onion
- Furikake, for rice
First, Make and Cool the Marinade
In a large pot, combine all the marinade ingredients, from the dried kelp to the MSG.
Cover the pot and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for one hour.
Strain the marinade through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding the solids. Let the marinade cool completely to room temperature, and then chill it in the refrigerator. Pouring warm marinade over raw crab is a critical food safety mistake, so ensure it is completely cold.
Next, Prepare the Crabs
This is the most important part of the recipe. You must use live crabs. When crabs die, they decompose extremely quickly and are not safe to eat raw.
Place the live crabs in the freezer for ~2 hours. This is the most humane way to handle them and makes them dormant and easy to clean.
Once the crabs are dormant, scrub them thoroughly under cold water with a stiff brush.
To break down the crab, lift the triangular “apron” on its belly and twist it off. With a firm grip on the back of the crab, pull the top shell off the body.
Using kitchen shears, remove the feathery gills and the mouthparts. Trim off the sharp tips of the legs and claws. Give the crab bodies another good rinse, being careful not to wash away any of the orange roe or yellow tomalley. Place the cleaned crab bodies in a large, non-reactive container (glass or plastic).
Clean the inside of the top shells under cold water, removing any dark material but preserving the roe and tomalley. Place the cleaned shells back onto the bodies in the container.
Finally, Marinate and Serve
Pour the completely cooled marinade over the crabs in the container. Make sure they are fully submerged.
Cover the container and refrigerate for at least one day before eating. The flavor will continue to develop. I find they are best on day two or three. They will become increasingly salty after that, so try to eat them within four days.
To eat, the best way is to get messy. Squeeze the meat out of the leg segments with your teeth. The absolute best part is to spoon hot rice into one of the top shells, mix it with the roe, tomalley, and a little of the marinade, and eat it directly from the shell.
Ganjang Gejang (Soy Marinated Raw Crab)
Ingredients
For the Marinade
- 3 sheets dried kelp (kombu) 5×5 inch
- 1.5 small onions sliced
- 1.5 small apples sliced
- 3 Korean peppers sliced
- 7-8 cloves garlic
- 1.5 tablespoons fresh ginger sliced
- 4-5 dried red chili peppers
- 3 cups low-sodium soy sauce
- 9 cups water
- 1/3 cup rice syrup or sugar
- 1/3 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/3 teaspoon MSG
For the Crabs & Garnish
- 3 lbs live blue crabs preferably female
- Sliced red or green peppers
- Chopped green onion
- Furikake for rice
Instructions
- Combine marinade ingredients in large pot.
- Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer 1 hour.
- Strain marinade and chill completely.
- Place live crabs in freezer for 2 hours until dormant.
- Scrub crabs under cold water.
- Remove apron, top shell, gills, and mouthparts. Trim leg tips.
- Rinse bodies and shells, preserving roe and tomalley.
- Place cleaned bodies in non-reactive container.
- Return cleaned top shells to bodies.
- Pour cold marinade over crabs until submerged.
- Refrigerate 1-3 days before serving.
