crab and rice vermicelli claypot

one thing about shopping at our local wet market is that there is fresh seafood all year long. right now, crabs are plentiful. buying crab is cheaper than beef or pork! we grabbed a heavy bagful and made a traditional cantonese dish out of it. nothing fancy, just simple ingredients to highlight the sweetness of the crab.

the purpose of the rice vermicelli is to soak up all the yummy crab juices. in our opinion, it’s the star of the dish.

small crabs 8-10 (about 2-3 large ones)
dried rice vermicelli 1 large handful bundle
ginger 10 slices
garlic 5 cloves
green onion 5
shallot 2
chicken stock 2 cups
soy sauce 2 tbsp
sugar 1 tsp
white pepper powder 1 tsp
oil 1/2 cup

clean and cut the crab in half
in a large bowl, soak the dried rice vermicelli in hot water for about 10 min, then strain the water and set aside
in another bowl, combine the chicken stock, soy sauce, sugar, and white pepper to make the stock, set aside
chop the garlic and shallot, slice the ginger, and cut the green onion
in a claypot (or regular pot) turn heat on high and add the oil and all of the aromatics, cook for a few min to lightly brown
add all of the crab and toss for a couple of min
add the strained rice vermicelli and the bowl of stock to the claypot, mix well
cover with a lid and turn heat on low, simmer for about 5 min