eating invasives (Green Crab Dumpling Recipe)

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably remember when I had a bunch of crabs in the kitchen. Well I’m finally going to explain what that was all about…

I’m not one to back down from a challenge especially when it’s in the kitchen and I love doing sustainable things, enter the green crabs. Green crabs are invasive in the US. This is bad because they have no natural predators, destroy the habitat, and eat everything they can. Eating invasives is very good for the environment because it protects endemic and native critters. You can’t over eat them. Green crabs are mostly on the East and West coasts, so if you live on one of these coasts it’s definitely a food you should try. I got my green crabs for free via the Shuck at Home Program from Green Crab Org (which if you’re in Boston I would recommend participating!). I signed up for ~5 pounds of crabs but I think I ended up with double that, which let me tell you is a lot of crabs. I thought about what I wanted to cook with what I thought was going to 5lb of crabs for like a week and finally settled on dumplings. I love dumplings, so much. I’ve only made dumplings one other time in my life and they were terrible, completely inedible. I learned to make dumplings from watching one of my fellow scoopies. I understood the process so much better after that even though I wouldn’t end up making dumplings for another 2 years. I am in no way an expert dumpling maker as when I made these it was my second time ever making them. This was a fun and interesting way for me to make a large batch of snack food and try my hand at dumpling making again (aka redeem myself in my eyes).

There were many challenges to recipe and honestly I don’t know if this is the best recipe for these crabs but it worked after trail and error. I literally had no clue what I was doing and research extensively while cooking because these were not working. This is probably the most time intensive recipe I will ever share. I highly recommend putting on a long series or a few movies because you will be in the kitchen for a while. The upside? You’ll have like over 100 dumplings and you’ll have the richest crab stock to use for so many dishes, in short you’ll eat for weeks maybe even months! I highly recommend clearing some freezer space because you will not use everything the day you make them. Oh and eat before you start because it’s a lot of work. Honestly I would have loved some soft shell green crabs because then I could have just fried them and been done but that’s not this. (side note: if you love blue crabs I would really recommend eating green crabs instead and asking for those where ever you buy blue crabs because blue crabs are endangered (i.e. don’t eat them!) and the preferred food source of whooping cranes, eat green crabs instead to help the environment).

This is a time intensive recipe, I’m trying to figure out some other less intense recipes but I promise you this is well worth it. This is one of those things that’s fun to do with friends or family or even alone. You could also use this technique to make a stuffed pasta like ravioli

Green Crab Dumpling Recipe
Things you’ll need to cook the crabs:

• The largest pot you have (I didn’t have a big pot when I made these so I used 3 different pots that were approx. 8 quarts each. I personally I would use a 20 quart pot or larger)
• Seasoning (you can use old bay or a mixture of bay leaves, oregano, dried chilis, and peppercorns//use whatever seasoning you want the dumplings don’t really need the broth, you can use the stock to make soup, polenta, gumbo, or pasta anything really)
• Vinegar (I put like a quarter cup in each pot of water (so a quarter cup per 8 quarts), this helps soften the shell which trust me you want to do)
• a sieve
• a large bowl
• a funnel
• a rubber spatula
• A medium sized bowl
• a few quart containers
• TONGS- these need to be sturdy
• A mallet or jar
• A drain plug strainer
• Freezer space, large enough and flat enough to keep store your baking sheet or cutting board

Things you’ll need to make the dumplings:

• fresh ginger ( I used about a quarter inch grated but you can use more or less depending on taste)
• low sodium soy sauce (about a quarter cup)
• Chinese 5 spice (optional)
• cabbage 1 small head
• carrots 3
• onions 1 (medium sized)
• garlic 1-3 cloves
• optional: chili paste or chili flakes
• dumpling wrappers
• a large bowl
• Cutting board + knife
• toasted sesame oil
• Large pan
• a small spoon
• large freezer bag
  

Obviously you’ll need the green crabs

This recipe has multiple parts, I recommend reading this through before attempting to cook anything, first we’ll start with cooking the crabs because they need to cool a little before you can handle them.

1. Fill your pot(s) with water (if you’re in an older building I recommend using cold water to minimize exposure to lead) about 60-75% of the size of the pot, add your seasoning to the pot, and bring it to a vigorous boil.

While you’re waiting for your water to boil, we’re going to clean the crabs and prep the stuff for the dumplings.

1. The crabs are living creatures and they do not want to be killed but this a mercy killing. They may try to pinch you with their claws which is why you have tongs.
   1. First plug your sink with a strainer, this is every important! You don’t want the crabs to escape because they’re bad for the environment. One of mine did and I had to turn on the garbage disposal to ensure it didn’t escape alive😞
   2. Dump the crabs in the sink and run cool water over the crabs to clean them for approximately 5 minutes. You want all debris removed from the crabs.
   3. Rinse the container the crabs came in and set aside
   4. Using the tongs add the crabs back into the container they came in, and keep the lid on them
2. Slice your onion and carrots into thin slivers. Cut off the tops and ends of each veggie, then cut them in half and slice into the slivers. Mince your garlic. Set aside.
3. In a large skillet, add about 1 tablespoon of sesame oil (and 2 of avocado oil) and heat on medium to low heat. While the pan is heating return to the crabs.

Cooking the crabs

1. Once the water is boiling vigorously dump the crabs in the pot(s). If you are using multiple pots add enough crabs to raise the water lever but not so much that the water overflows.
2. The crabs are cooked once they change colors and stop moving (the color change is the biggest difference and the easiest indicator). This will take about 10 minutes depending on the size of the pot and the amount of crabs.
3. Once the crabs are cooked, turn off the heat and let cool in the pot, while you return to the dumpling filling.

Cooking the dumpling filling

1. While the crabs are cooking return to the pan. Once it is warm add onions, carrots, chili flakes, ginger, Chinese 5 spice, and garlic and sauté. If using chili paste, mix chili paste with soy sauce and set aside.
2. Once onions are nearly translucent, add cabbage to pan and mix well. Add your soy sauce (mixture) and cook down the cabbage until it is no longer raw and fully cooked, about 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally. Once cooked, turn off heat and remove pan. Allow to cool while you work on the crabs.

Collecting the meat

1. Save the broth you will need it to obtain the crab meat. Using the tongs, remove the crabs from the pot into a clean container(s) or baking sheet(s). Let cool enough so that you can handle them without the tongs.
2. (This a Vietnamese method and it worked pretty well.) In the sink, place your large, and place the sieve over the bowl and add 5-7 crabs to strainer and mash! You want to crush the crabs very well into coarse chunks.
3. Grab one of your quart containers and scoop the broth/boiled water out and pour it over the crushed crabs. Repeat this a few times, I did it about 5 times per batch (essentially until the liquid no longer flowed through the strainer) and reused the liquid. Remove crab shells from strainer and use the spatula or spoon to scoop out the meat which is all that should be left behind and place it into a separate clean bowl. You will repeat this process until you have done this with all of the crabs.
4. Once you have finished the crabs add the meat to the cabbage mixture and mix thoroughly. Now we make dumplings! First, however, clean up and maybe take a little breather.
5. At this point, you can discard all your crab shells either in your compost bin or in the trash. Decant your broth into containers to cool fully, leave space because this is water-based so it will expand once frozen, and freeze once cool (you want the liquid to cool in about 30-60 minutes before freezing). Put your dishes in the dishwasher or hand wash and set aside. You will need a small bowl or cup of water, cutting board, and baking sheet lined with parchment (the parchment is optional). Everything else can be put away.

Making the dumplings

1. On a clean cutting board or flat surface place your dumpling wrapper. Scoop about a half tablespoon of the crab and cabbage mixture onto the center of the dumpling wrapper. Wet your finger and run it around the circumference/perimeter of the wrapper and fold, press the edges down to ensure it is sealed. Pick up the dumpling and pinch the edges (please watch a video on how to do this). I will be honest my first few were not good but you will end up making around 100 dumplings so you will develop the skill throughout this process. I am much better at this now. Place the dumpling on the baking sheet lined with parchment Repeat this process until you fill the baking sheet with rows of dumplings leaving about a half-inch of space between them.
2. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes. You are flash freezing the dumplings so you can eat them later. You want the outside of the dumpling to cold and slightly frozen. Once they have reached this state you can store them in a container or large freezer bag in your freezer.
3. Repeat this process until all of the dumplings are frozen. If you want to cook some, I recommend cooking the amount you want right after you fold them.

Cooking the dumplings

1. In a pan, heat about a tablespoon or 2 of sesame oil over medium heat.
2. Once hot add the dumplings, either fresh or frozen, flat side down and cook until the bottom is browned a little (about 2 minutes if fresh, about 4-5 if frozen).
3. Add a scant quarter cup of water to the pan and cover. The dumplings will now steam and will be ready once all of the water has evaporated.
4. Serve immediately with soy sauce or a dumpling sauce (I would like to recommend the Zhong sauce by fly by jing but mine was stolen so I never got to try it)

That’s it! Normally I don’t make recipes this involved but I wanted something fun to try and it was literally the middle of the pandemic so I had a bunch of free time.