Gegamjeong (crab stew)

Gegamjeong (Institute of Traditional Korean Food)

Gegamjeong is a stew made of blue crab and red pepper paste. In olden days, it was often served on the king’s dining table. The delicate crab flesh and spicy soup give gegamjeong a unique taste. The crab is tasty and nutritious, and there is a saying, “Travelers should not look at the blue crab.”

Ingredients
● 2 bodies blue female crab

● 120 g beef (minced top round)

● Seasoning sauce: 1/2 tsp clear soy sauce, 1/2 tsp minced green onion, 1/4 tsp minced 1/2 tsp sesame salt, 1/8 tsp ground black pepper, 1/2 tsp sesame oil

● 80 g tofu, 3 ea brown oak mushrooms

● 80 g mung bean sprouts, 2 cups water, 1/4 tsp salt

● Seasonings for filling stuffs: 1 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp ground black pepper, 1/2 tsp sesame seeds, 1 tsp sesame oil

● 150 g radish, 5 tbsp wheat flour, 1 ea egg

● 4 cups water, 1 tbsp soybean paste, 4 tbsp red pepper paste

● 1 roots green onion, 1 tbsp minced garlic, 1/2 tsp ginger juice, 1/2 tsp salt

● 40 g crown daisy

1. Clean crabs by brushing, cut the end part of legs. Split the crab shells from the bodies, scrape out the flesh (145 g), then drain water.

2. Clean blood off minced beef, season with seasoning sauce.

3. Wrap tofu with cotton cloths, mash by squeezing. Remove the heads of mung bean sprouts.

4. Soak mushrooms in water for 1 hour, remove the stems, wipe water out, then chop finely.

5. Cut the radish into 2.5 cm-wide, 2 cm-long and 0.5 cm-thick. Trim and wash green onion, cut into 2 cm-long and 0.3 cm-thick diagonally.

6. Pour water in the pot, heat it up for 2 min. on high heat. When it boils, put salt and mung bean sprouts, scald it for 2 min. cut them into 0.5 cm-long, and squeeze water out.

7. Pour water in the pot, put soybean paste and red pepper paste in the water through a strainer. Add crab legs and radish, heat it up for 2 min. on high heat. When it boils, lower the heat to medium, boil it for 10 min. to blend crab soup, then take the legs out.

8. Provide filling stuffs with seasoned crab flesh and all prepared stuffs with seasonings.

9. Coat inside of the crab shell with wheat flour, place filling stuffs on it evenly.

10. Coat the surface of filling stuffs with wheat flour again, then coat it with egg water over. Panfry it for 1 min. on medium heat, and another 1 min. after egg water coating again.

11. Put the fried crabs into the boiled crab soup, heat it up for 2 min. on high heat. When it boils, lower the heat to medium, boil for 10 min. Add green onion, garlic, ginger juice, salt and crown daisy, then bring it to a boil.

Tip

● Use live crabs for this dish.

(Adapted from the Institute of Traditional Korean Food)