Kou Wei Xia (Flavored Crawfish)
A classic street food from Changsha, featuring tender and bouncy crawfish in a spicy, aromatic sauce. An irresistible late-night snack.
Ingredients
14 items- Crawfish 1000 g
- Dried chilies 20 g
- Sichuan peppercorns 10 g
- Ginger 15 g
- Garlic 20 g
- Scallions 2
- Light soy sauce 2 tbsp
- Cooking wine 1 tbsp
- Oyster sauce 1 tbsp
- Sugar 1 tsp
- Salt to taste
- Beer 1 can (330 ml)
- Cooking oil as needed
- Cilantro some
Nutrition
Steps （7 steps）
Scrub the crawfish thoroughly with a brush, trim the antennae and legs, and remove the vein from the tail. Rinse again and drain.
Prepare the aromatics: cut dried chilies into segments, slice ginger, crush garlic, cut scallions, chop cilantro.
Heat oil in a wok to 180°C (350°F) over high heat. Deep-fry the crawfish for about 2 minutes until shells turn red. Remove and drain.
Pour off most oil, leaving about 2 tbsp. Over medium heat, stir-fry ginger, garlic, dried chilies, and Sichuan peppercorns until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Turn heat to high, add the crawfish, light soy sauce, cooking wine, oyster sauce, sugar, and salt. Stir-fry quickly to coat, about 30 seconds.
Pour in beer, bring to a boil, then reduce to medium heat. Cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring once halfway.
Uncover and turn to high heat to reduce the sauce until it coats the shells, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle scallions and cilantro, toss to combine, and serve.
Tips
Use live crawfish for the best texture; do not over-fry or the meat will become tough; the beer not only removes any fishy smell but also adds malty flavor; adjust spiciness by varying the amount of dried chilies and Sichuan peppercorns.
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