赛螃蟹(“Mock Crab”)
I first had this dish, I think, in China, with either Waigong or Waipo explaining how this was like crab, but isn’t. This dish incorporates the flavors of Chinese crab centered around black vinegar and ginger, but has the crabmeat represented by egg white and crab roe represented by egg yolk. In high school or college, an easy version of this become one of the first things I would cook as a quick breakfast: I’d scramble an egg, then add black before it set. The vinegar interfered with setting, transforming the egg to a smooth but watery texture. I eventually got sick of this rendition and stopped making it.
Today, I came across a video describing a very different version of 赛螃蟹 than I remembered: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de2ICN--C1A . This version shallow fries an egg white mixture to get a texture reminiscent of the outer layer of Chicken Francese. I found another online version more similar to the one made by Waipo here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm_RhDuEMg8&t=184s 。
Based on these recipes and my memories, I decided to try my hand at 赛螃蟹 again. I appreciated the clear separation of white and yolk from the first recipe, but wanted to capture the ease of the second recipe. I also let the egg whites brown and char similar to a 荷包蛋 egg white in order to add a stronger textural component. The result was quite delicious, a more sophisticated version of my old staple that I will surely cook often.
2 eggs, yolks and whites separated
Small knob (1 inch) ginger, finely cut
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon black vinegar
1 teaspoon 咸蛋黄酱 (the Food52 recipe used whole salted egg yolks, that would probably be nice too)
Mix together all ingredients except the eggs. Taste for salt (should not be too salty)
Mix egg yolks into mixture above.
Heat wok/cast iron pan hot and add oil, enough to make sure egg does not stick. I wanted texture in the egg so it was ripping hot, probably better not to use nonstick
Pour in egg white, let puff up and brown. Then, use metal wok spatula to cut egg white into small chunks.
Add in egg yolk mixture and cook until egg yolk is done.