Yummy Umami Steamed Crab Rice Recipe with USA Calrose Rice

First Post: Jan 10, 2025
Update: Jan 10, 2025
Leslie Tay

Crabs are a quintessential ingredient that embodies celebration and hospitality, making any meal feel special for those invited. While they can be challenging to source and prepare, serving a crab dish is undeniably impressive. Like many culinary skills, once you master handling crabs, transforming them into a delicious dish becomes effortless.

Today, we’ll be preparing Steamed Crab over rice wrapped in lotus leaves. Traditionally, this dish uses glutinous rice, but some find it a bit too heavy. In this recipe, I use USA Calrose rice as a lighter alternative.

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USA Calrose Rice

USA Calrose Rice is a versatile medium grain rice that is sustainably grown in the USA. It offers a lighter alternative to glutinous rice while still providing a satisfying chew and stickiness, making it a good substitute. However, a few adjustments are needed to ensure the grains stay intact and perfectly al dente!

I have used USA Calrose Rice in many dishes. Do check out our other recipes at this link.

Recipe Card

Serves : 4 – 6 pax
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cooking Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

USA Calrose: 2 Rice Cups (360ml)
Water 400ml
Dried scallops 4 pieces
Gingko Nuts 1/2 cup
Chinese Sausage x 2 diced
Garlic Chives 5 stalks diced
Garlic 4 cloves chopped

Egg Yolk Mixture
Egg yolks 2
Salted egg yolks 4
Butter 30g
Salt 1 tsp
Sugar 2 tsp

Crab 1 x 600g – 700g
Ginger 1 Tbsp julienne

Egg White Marinade
Egg whites 2
Chinese Rice Wine 1 Tbsp
Fish Sauce 1 tsp
Corn Flour 2 tsp

Garnish
Scallions chopped

Method

Wash and put rice (2 rice cups) in rice cooker with 400ml water.
Add dried scallops which have been hydrated
Cook Rice
Mix butter, egg yolks, salted egg yolks, salt and sugar together.
Once rice is cooked, fluff it up and allow to cool for 15mins before adding yolk mixture into the rice
Prepare crab and marinade in egg white, Chinese wine, fish sauce and corn flour. Set aside.
Add oil to wok and fry garlic till golden brown. Add garlic chives and fry briefly.
Add rice and fry briefly to coat the rice grains with the garlic infused oil. Add ginkgo nuts and mix.
Place pre-soaked lotus leaf in bamboo steamer with the smooth side up. Cut off the tip of the leaf to make it lay flat
Add rice to the lotus leaf, then top with diced Chinese sausages.
Arrange crab on top of the rice and lay julienned ginger on top and steam for 20mins
Garnish with scallions and serve!

Cooking Notes & Tips

Dispatching Live Crabs

The most humane way to handle live crabs is to first “put them to sleep” by placing them in the freezer for 1-2 hours. Once they are in deep hibernation, remove them from the fridge and, in one swift motion, drive the tip of a sturdy knife blade into the tip of the apron (The triangular thing on the bottom of the crab). This will kill the crab instantly.

Clean the crabs by removing the gills and mouth appendages and give it a good scrub. Then chop the rest of the crab into pieces with a cleaver. Be sure to keep the top shell intact for an impressive final presentation.

For our recipe, we used a female crab because we wanted the roe to mix in with the rice. If you prefer more meat, then choose a male crab. We chose crabs that weigh between 600–700g because they are just the right size for our bamboo steamer. If you are using a bigger plate, then choose a larger crab or use two.

Cooking the Rice

When cooking the rice, use 400ml of water for every 2 rice cups (360ml) of rice. This is about 10% less water than usual, as the rice will be steamed again later and the crab will release more water into the rice. To enhance the dish’s flavour, add four pieces of rehydrated dried scallops on top of the rice when it is cooking.

Once the rice is cooked, gently shred the scallops and mix them evenly into the rice. Transfer the rice to a separate bowl and let it cool for about 15 minutes.

Coating Cooked Rice with Egg Yolk Mixture

Create a super umami egg yolk mixture by combining 4 salted egg yolks with 2 egg yolks, softened butter, salt and sugar into a paste. Then evenly coat the cooked rice with the mixture.

Frying the Rice

Next we add another layer of flavour by frying the rice with chopped garlic and garlic chives. This step helps to coat the rice grains with the garlic infused oil which not only gives it a nice fragrance but also helps to keep the rice separate. You don’t need to actually fry the rice, we are not making fried rice. This step is just to coat the rice with the oil. Once it’s evenly coated, mix in some canned ginkgo nuts.

Next, cut the tip off your pre-soaked lotus leaf and lay it smooth-side up in your bamboo steamer. You want the rice to lay on the smooth side so that the grains don’t get caught in the veins. On the other hand, the veins on the bottom side of the lotus leaf creates a more visually appealing presentation when the dish is presented. (If you are wrapping it up into a parcel)

Assembling the Steam Crab Rice

Before adding the crabs, evenly spread diced Chinese sausage over the rice. As the dish steams, the delicious fat renders and seeps into the rice.

Next, coat the crab pieces in a mixture of egg whites, Chinese wine, fish sauce, and corn flour. This will help keep the crab meat moist and tender while it steams. Before steaming, top the crabs with julienned ginger to help counter any fishy odour.

Finally, wrap the rice and crabs with the lotus leaf and steam for 20 minutes over medium heat.

Serving Suggestion

The best way to enjoy this dish is to first peel the crab meat and mix it with the rice together with the crab roe. It takes a little effort but it is that festive time of the year! So why not embrace the joy of peeling crabs together while sharing some stories around the table? It’s an experience that adds a delightful, communal touch to the meal.

Conclusion

You may feel like there are quite a number of steps involved in this recipe. But all the extra effort will be worth it when you’re greeted with all the “Oos” and “Ahs” when you present the dish to your friends and family.

Huat ah!

Here are other recipes you may consider making with your new pack of US Calrose rice! Enjoy!