Holding chela drinking chrysanthemum day, the bank of the frustrated river is full of fresh streets.

As the saying goes: "When the autumn wind rises, the crab's feet are itchy, and the navel is round in September and sharp in October."

In the golden autumn season of "Kikuliu Autumn Crab Claw", sit at home or in a restaurant, taste the tender flesh of the stone crab, carefully peeled, its taste is endless. Accompanied by rice wine to drink, warm up the cold, healthy food, better than a fairy.

There are many small rivers and streams in Nanyi County, which are rich in stone crabs, also called brook crabs, and were formerly known as stone crabs. Stone crab is a freshwater crab. Crustaceans, Decapodea, brook crabs. It inhabits streams or under rocks in streams, and is similar to a wide variety of species.

The common varieties of stone crabs in Nanyi County are fine-toothed brook crab and sawtooth brook crab, the individual is small, the back of the cephalothorax is slightly raised, there is a pair of lumps behind the forehead, there are wrinkles or particles in front of it, the back of the leg socket is concave, the ridge line is clear, and the anterior lateral edge has small serrations. Stone crabs are often found in freshwater areas such as Fengyang River and Jiuzi River, and they are abundant, delicious and mellow, which is really a great delicacy in autumn.

Especially after heavy rains, there are many catches among mountain people. The stone crab is salted, seasoned with soy sauce, chili, garlic and monosodium glutamate, and is ready to eat, making it a favorite accompaniment to the locals.

Crabs are generally known to everyone, but when it comes to stone crabs, very few people know about them. Eating stone crab, of course, is the best steamed, the taste is fresher, and with a sauce vinaigrette, it is simple and delicious, and it is very practical.

The people of Nanyi County have a set of conventional methods and steps for making stone crabs:

First, wash the captured stone crabs in the water, and then place the washed stone crabs with their stomachs facing up on top of the steamer. Put ginger slices on the belly of the stone crab, sprinkle a layer of chopped green onions, then cover the pot and steam for 10 minutes on high heat. At the same time, prepare an appropriate amount of minced ginger, add a little light soy sauce, add a little more aged vinegar, then pour some sesame oil and stir well, and dip it when eating stone crab.

It is another year to eat stone crabs, when the northwest wind blows into Jingshan, the stone crabs are about to ripen, and their meat is full of cream. Nine females and ten males, eat female crabs in September, eat male crabs in October, here is talking about Qinglian Town, therefore, Qinglian Town September to October, is the best period for stone crabs.

In late autumn, walking in Qinglian Town, at the door of most restaurants, you will always smell the unique fresh fragrance of stone crabs, which is paired with ginger vinegar dipping sauce, which makes a delicious and fragrant food experience. This year, the stone crab ripens on September 26.

On the next day, Wang Ziwei returned to Longyan Village to explore the construction style of the farmhouse compound, and went to Qinglian Town to do business. He originally planned to make an appointment with Wang Ziwei to eat at the end of October, which is not as good as the sky, no matter morning or evening, as long as it is delicious, it is the best arrangement.

No, the stone crab is not on, and the crab roe is coming. Before eating crabs, taste crab roe and take a few sips of moist and mellow rice wine, which is the beginning. is like the overture of a drama, first of all, a foreshadowing, for the whole pair of stone crabs, full of taste buds. The fragrance is on the table, and they can't wait to start while it's hot, and everyone doesn't need to pay attention to it.

Nong Tianyi said that some people like to eat crab legs first, and some people maintain the most primitive and rough eating method, lift the crab cover, and go straight to the essence part. The crab paste is sticky and soft, and the mouth is suddenly filled with the essence washed out by the river water.

Wang Ziwei said, it seems that the clear spring water of the stream, with the swimming of a year, the essence has been absorbed by this creature and gathered on the crab paste.

As soon as Nong Tian was busy eating crabs, he let out a series of "uh-huh".

Crab meat, smooth and sweet, layers of silk, pieces and strips, are the elves of nature's creation.

Crab legs, delicate diners, need all kinds of tools to assist, and Nong Tianyi prefers to use local materials, not steel tools, which he believes is a bad star that destroys the soul of food.

So, he told Wang Ziwei how to eat: fold off the thickest upper end of the crab legs, break them back and forth, and use the last section of the crab legs to poke out the meat at the upper end from one end. In this way of eating, crab leg meat is the most beautiful.

Wang Ziwei got the essentials and said with a smile: I didn't expect you to be a gourmet!

Speaking of crab eating tools, it goes back to the time when Nong Tianyi was working in Hankou's "Sanjitang Tea Shop". The first feeling of the Hankou people's love for crabs at that time was far beyond Nong Tianyi's imagination. In the season, the exquisite Hankou people worship authentic lake crabs as food gods.

In the evening, in the restaurants along the street, while listening to the play, drink a pot of fragrant rice wine, and dismantle a pair of crabs to eat. The tools for dismantling crabs are readily available. Crab removal tools from "eight crabs" to "thirty-four crabs", the more and more they develop, the real is no less than the battle between the factory tools, there seems to be a competition between the eight immortals across the sea, to see who can eat the most meticulous, even the extreme.

In contrast, Nong Tianyi is much rougher, and it is the first time for such a tool, which is really an eye-opener. Rough was impressed by the delicacy, and now in retrospect, Nong Tianyi remembers it vividly, and occasionally laughs at himself.

After hearing this, Wang Ziwei felt incredible, isn't it just to eat a crab, it is necessary to do so tedious.

Nong Tianyi firmly believes that roughness and delicacy should complement each other. If it is heroic, it is like a high mountain; If it is delicate, it is as silent as moisturizing things. The combination of mountains and rivers, the combination of thickness and thinness, is the beauty of crab eating in the world, and it is a pleasure!

At the beginning, against public opinion, Nong Tianyi went from a small county town deep in Jingshan to Hankou to learn art, and saw the world through wind and rain. All the way to the south, in order to discover the self that never existed in the distance, and of course, the pair of crabs that never met. Along the way, Nong Tian has suffered a lot, and he has indeed learned a lot of new things. As the saying goes, "read 10,000 books, travel 10,000 miles".

However, for tools, sometimes, with or without use, there are also two meanings, Nong Tianyi called this "Wen Eat" and "Wu Eat". One is to eat tools and enjoy delicacy; One is to eat speed and enjoy pleasure. No matter how you eat it, it makes sense.

Nong Tianyi said that in fact, if it is clean and hygienic, when people touch the food with their hands, it is the empathy between people and the soul of food, and it is also full of gratitude for the creation of nature. In particular, the stone crabs on the banks of the streams and the shallows by the river in the depths of Jingshan Mountain, after eating well, are not fishy but fresh, and the hands leave a residual fragrance, and the umami can make people continue to enjoy it all day.

Speaking of names, Nong Tianyi used to only know river crabs, which are also called "hairy claws" in the countryside of Nanyi County, which means river crabs with a lot of fluff on their paws. Why did it change its name and surname when it reached the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, called hairy crabs, and it is not clear.

It turns out that it is the same river crab, but the species are different. For example, the hairy crab species in Liangzi Lake in Wuchang must be the Chinese mitten crab, which is about three taels or more. It is rumored that at that time in Hankou and Wuchang, the crab fishermen set up a gate between the harbors, the gate is made of bamboo chips, hang the lights at night, the crab sees the light, that is, follow the light to climb the bamboo gate, at this time only need to catch on the gate, so it is called hairy crab.

The Fengyang River and Jiuzi River in Nanyi County enjoy the reputation of "the king of crabs" in the local area, and many taverns or time-honored brands only believe in the source of "Fengyang Crab" and "Jiuzi Crab", just like the belief in the local fresh and fatty "Xihe Fish", diners want the unique "essence of the stream" of the fresh fragrance.

The water quality of Fengyang River or Jiuzi River is excellent, such as spring like honey, after the authentic stone crab is caught, there is the state of "green back, white belly, velvet claw, exquisite", very exquisite, simple and lovely. If you play with it, you won't be able to put it down.

Li Baiyou, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, said in a poem: "The crab claw is the gold liquid, and the bad hill is Penglai", comparing the crab to the elixir, and the delicacy that makes people drift into immortals is so fragrant. What's more, poetry and immortals can't do without wine, and of course you can't eat crab without rice wine.

Today, for them, stone crabs and fine wine are like Penglai Wonderland. Otherwise, Li Bai, the ancient wine fairy, will not compose poems and praise for crabs, whether it is a diner or a wine fairy, eating stone crabs must be accompanied by authentic rice wine from Jingshan. More perfect is the ginger shredded old rice wine. Because, the stone crab is cold, especially the crab legs. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to both cold and heat, but also respect food and health.

The joy of harvest, the most beautiful stone crab, diners in the depths of Jingshan Mountain, can enjoy the most authentic stone crab in the seasonal season without leaving home.

A few stone crabs were almost eaten, and Nong Tianyi said with a smile, I really should cherish the delicious food given by God!

Wang Ziwei ate with relish and said with a smile: Let's buy some stone crabs home and eat them later, okay?

Nong Tian nodded again and again, and said, how about steamed or braised stone crab?

Wang Ziwei said repeatedly, "Okay, good!" ”