Yield: 8 Servings

Ingredients:

Black bean sauce:

• ½ cup miso paste
• 1/3 cup sake
• ½ cup Aji Mirin
• ¼ cup sugar
• 3 Tablespoons Sambal Oelek
• 4 ounces fermented black beans, rinsed well

Black bean crab:

• 8 Dungeness crabs, live
• 4 ounces peanut oil
• 2 Tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 Tablespoon black pepper, freshly ground
• 4 Tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
• 4 Tablespoons garlic, minced
• 1 batch black bean sauce
• 4 ounces green onions, cut on bias
• 2 green onions, whites only, finely julienned

Method:
For black bean sauce:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

For crabs:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Clean crab by taking the cap off and removing the gills. Leave viscera in cap if desired. Break apart crab legs into individual pieces and crack with back of chef's knife. Heat oil in large wok or sauté pan until smoking. Add crab legs and caps and toss to coat with oil. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute, stirring well. Add ginger and garlic, sauté lightly for 30 seconds. Transfer crabs to a large baking dish or sheet pan and place in 400°F oven. Roast until crabs reach an internal temperature of 140°F. Remove from oven and place crabs in a large bowl. Add black bean sauce and green onions and toss until well coated. Place cap on serving plate and stack legs inside the cap. Garnish with additional julienned green onions.

Wine pairing:
A fuller-bodied Gewürztraminer such as the Standing Stone Gewurztraminer 2003, from the Finger Lakes in New York