In other words, the temperature in Wuhan is rising slowly these days. It’s the annual season to eat crayfish again! Come on, about three or five confidants, some braised prawns and some iced beer. Hey, how’s your little life!

Ingredients

3 kg crayfish
Two cans of beer
A chunk of ginger
Half root scallion
Two big garlic
About 30g beef sauce
1 brine bag
Proper amount of salt
Proper amount of sugar
Proper amount of thirteen incense
About 50ml edible oil
2 Hangzhou peppers

Directions

Step 1
Since it is an "improved version" of braised prawns, Chao dad will never sell off. First, explain the most important seasoning in detail: first, the shrimp needs "sauce", which is different from that in many restaurants. Please pay attention to the following figure. The choice is "beef sauce". Why use beef sauce to cook shrimp? The reason is very simple: butter sauce is more fragrant. Of course, you'd better buy more reliable beef sauce to make. There will be no advertising for any brand here. There are many online and supermarkets.
Step 2
The second key is the "spice" used to cook shrimp. Although a lot of "secret spice bags" are sold on the Internet, ranging from a few yuan to dozens of yuan, in fact, many folk food lovers prefer to cook shrimp spices by themselves. For example, Chao dad's own experience is that basic brine is enough, and hemp, spicy and fragrant leaves are the most important and essential. In fact, the figure below is very intuitive. In addition, ginger, garlic and scallion are all conventional ingredients. (the amount of spices should be emphasized: the shrimp cooked by Chao Dad today is about 2 kg. If you cook a little more, you can add the spices appropriately, and the spicy taste can be controlled flexibly)
Step 3
Let's talk about the protagonist "crayfish". It is recommended that you choose the "clean water shrimp" shown in the figure below when you buy it. There is no other reason: it is because the clean water shrimp is relatively clean and hygienic. It is recommended not to buy that kind of shrimp whose shell is red and black. Usually, the shrimp meat is old and too big to weigh, which is not cost-effective. The remarkable signs of freshwater shrimp are: the color of shrimp shell is light, and the belly of shrimp is relatively clean. (the pictures in the back are clearly marked. Please pay attention to them.)
Step 4
For some not cleaned, just brush again with a brush. Then cut off the shrimp pliers one by one, pull out the shrimp intestines, and then cut off the sharp part of the shrimp head. This step is very critical, because inside the shrimp head is the metabolic system of crayfish. There is a "sand bag" full of black sand, which must be removed. The following pictures are quite intuitive. Look carefully.
Step 5
Yes, it's this "sandbag". It's full of black sand and must be removed.
Step 6
Let's take a look at the processed crayfish. It's refreshing. The sign of "clear water shrimp" is also at a glance. Oh, by the way, in fact, crayfish is also divided into male and female. Do you know how to distinguish between male and female? Ha ha, Chao dad sells it first.
Step 7
Start to cook shrimp officially. The first step is to fry spices: heat the pot hot enough, turn the heat down, and pour the oil. Note that this is different from the "traditional version" of braised prawns. It was mentioned before that the standard of "Qianjiang school" is to pour at least half a kilo of oil into 3 kilos of prawns. Well, Chao dad burned more than 2 kilos of prawns today, and only poured about one or two of oil. There is no other reason to enjoy the beauty and be healthier at the same time.
Step 8
After the spices are fried, it's the turn of the second "protagonist": put the beef sauce into the pot, continue to stir fry over a low fire to produce a strong flavor, and then put the drained crayfish into the pot, turn it into a high fire and stir fry it more frequently (Figure 2 below). Be sure to stir fry until all the shrimp shells turn bright red.
Step 9
After the shrimp shell is fried into bright red, pour the prepared beer into the pot, about less than 4 / 5 of the shrimp. The following picture is very intuitive for your reference. Stewed prawns in oil must be cooked with beer. Never add a drop of water. This is the "hard truth".
Step 10
OK, pour in the beer and cook it over the high fire. Let's start seasoning. Add an appropriate amount of salt, sugar and thirteen spices. Add raw or old soy sauce as you like. Stir the seasoning into the pot, bring to a boil over high heat, cover the pot, turn to medium heat and simmer.
Step 11
Next, this link is also particularly important, because many friends reported that they always feel "tasteless" when they cook shrimp at home. Please pay attention and follow the steps above. Cover the pot and simmer over medium heat. At the same time, remove the pot cover and stir fry every 5 minutes. This is one of the secrets to make it taste. In fact, there is another secret you might as well consider: Braised prawns have to be "stewed" in addition to "oil", don't they? Stewing is soaking. It is recommended that you adjust the fire power to the minimum in the second 5 minutes, that is, when stewing to the 10th minute, let the crayfish stew in the Soup for three or five minutes, and then cook over high fire until the Soup is basically dry (about 5 minutes), so as to properly "taste". Note that the whole process of "braised prawns in oil" takes about 20 minutes.
Step 12
Professional chefs in many restaurants like to add scallions and coriander before braised prawns come out of the pot. Chao dad also has a slight "improvement suggestion", that is, add some spicy fresh Hangzhou pepper slices two minutes before coming out of the pot, which can better freshen and enhance the taste. Here is another detail to mention: "Qianjiang pie" braised prawns in oil will add a lot of oyster sauce in the last link, which is relatively sticky and delicious. This method has different opinions anyway. You can refer to it or pursue a more "real" delicious taste of crayfish like Chao dad.