Raw Marinated Crab 江蟹生

Raw Marinated Crab (江蟹生) is a traditional Wenzhou (温州) cold dish made from chopped, uncooked crab. The Wenzhou Tourism Bureau (温州市旅游局) describes it as an everyday accompaniment to drinks at home and a cold plate at banquets.

Crab and a sharp marinade

The bureau identifies the locally named jiangxie (江蟹) as usually swimming crab from the Ou River (瓯江). Finely divided crab is marinated with vinegar, soy sauce and huangjiu (黄酒) rice wine; other seasonings vary with the preparation.

Sour, sweet and pungent notes

The resulting surface flavour combines sourness, sweetness, soy seasoning and savouriness. Mustard adds a forceful, pungent note when used as a dip. The account also describes flesh that slips readily from its shell.