Introduction to Da jiao Fang Pincers Sauce
DaJiao Fang is home to a popular sauce with a long history and a wide popularity called Pincers Sauce. To talk about this sauce, we first have to delve into its main ingredient - Pincers.
Pincers are a type of crab that belong to the large family of crabs. However, compared to the delicate and expensive crabs like the Chinese mitten crab and the hairy crab, pincers are considered the "plebeians" of the crab family. They are often found in the mudbanks and rice fields along the river channels, especially in the Pearl River Delta where water covers most of the area. In DaJiao, a town located in the midst of the water network, they are amazingly abundant (with red and white golden pincers). The pincers play a crucial role in clearing the waters, feeding on rotten materials found in the water. The pincers are amphibious and like to create holes to live in along riverbanks and land terraces. This can be harmful to the riverbank, and they also like to nibble on young rice shoots, causing harm to rice fields, which is why they are considered pests. Despite this, they are treasured as a local delicacy by food lovers. "In the first month, pincers are eaten, and crabs are eaten in the second," showing how special and delicious the pincers are in the area.
There are several ways to cook pincers in DaJiao: Steamed Pincers with Garlic and Fermented Soybean Paste: After cleaning the pincers, remove the shells, gills, lungs and legs. Prepare some mashed garlic and fermented soybean paste with oil, salt and mix evenly. Then spread it on the pincers and steam it until cooked. This was a common dish among the farming community, where the pincers were caught conveniently while returning from the fields. Pincers with Ginger and Spring Onion: This recipe is similar to the Steamed Crab with Ginger and Spring Onion, except that removing the shells, gills, lungs, and legs takes time and effort. Therefore, it is suitable for serving with alcohol but takes extra effort when serving with rice. Fried Pincers: After cleaning the pincers, coat them with seasoned flour and deep-fry until golden. This is a tasty dish to enjoy with drinks. Pincers Porridge: Pincers Porridge is also a famous porridge dish in DaJiao. Using pincers as the main ingredient, add roasted peanuts, fried doughnut, cabbage leaves and spring onions. The taste is beyond words. To enhance the flavor, people may add some fresh clams, which makes it even more delicious. In fact, this dish is a folk remedy for promoting good health: Pincers are a special medicinal ingredient for treating liver disease. In the past, when medicine was scarce, people with hepatitis could simply grind the raw pincers together with fresh yellow flowers, mix with boiling water and drink it as medicine, which was very effective. Boiling it as porridge also has the effect of detoxifying and protecting the liver. In the past, children who had sores would also need to eat this porridge.
In DaJiao, pincers sauce has become a famous condiment and has been highly praised for over 200 years. The cultural figure, Lai Hongxi (1770-1850), praised it as "Pincers Sauce is as delicious as shrimp, toad, and Jiangyaoshou meat" in his writing “Ten verses of Bamboo Branch Song in DaJiao”. This praise further proves that pincers sauce has been a popular condiment in DaJiao for a very long time.
The History of Pincers Sauce in DaJiao Fang
More than 200 years ago, Lai Hongxi, a cultural figure who lived in DaJiao, praised the flavor of Pincers Sauce in one of his works: "Ordinary Pincers Sauce is capable of rivaling the taste of shrimp, toad, and Jiangyao meat." This high praise indicates that Pincers Sauce has been famous in DaJiao for centuries.
How to Make Pincers Sauce in DaJiao Fang
The traditional method to make Pincers Sauce is to clean the pincers and remove the shells, gills, lungs, claws, and legs. Add salt in a ratio of 1:0.2, and grind it with a sandstone mortar and pestle. Then, use a small grinding mill to produce a dense paste. Add some wine and stir in some roasted glutinous rice on top (or mix into the sauce). Seal the container and place it in a sunny place for several weeks to let it ferment. The finished Pincers Sauce is dark black with a nice aroma but not fishy. It is smooth without any grittiness and is a prized condiment. The pincers sauce also inherits the function of protecting the liver, which is very beneficial to the liver and helps to improve liver function. It can be used to make two typical dishes: Pincers sauce steamed pork (semi-fat and semi-lean is preferable as it is steamed twice to extract the oil from the fatty pork, making it more delicious) and stir-fried green beans with pincers sauce (the green beans will be crispy, tender, and delicious as pincers sauce adds alkaline properties to the dish).
