The following recipe is a supplement to the Dining feature "Now, that's good readin'" and is reprinted with permission from Chow: From China to Canada: Memories of Food and Family (Whitecap Books, $24.95). All rights reserved.

Dungeness Crab with Dow See
(black-bean sauce)

Up to our elbows in crab and black-bean sauce! Dad liked to pamper us by cooking an entire crab for each of us. This recipe is enough for about one crab. You can adjust it to taste.

Serves 4 small portions

1 Dungeness crab Sauce
2 tablespoons dow see (fermented black beans)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 to 2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
2 slices ginger root (peeling the skin is optional)
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
2 teaspoons ho yu (oyster sauce) dash of rice wine or cooking sherry
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch, tapioca, or arrowroot starch to thicken (optional)
1/8 cup water (optional)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil for stir-frying

• Wash the crab and blot dry. Separate the legs and crack the sharp edge of the claws with a hammer.
• The back, or body, of the crab comes apart in four sections and contains tender, delicate meat.
• Rinse the dow see in water to remove some of the salt. Add the sugar and crush with a mortar and pestle. If you don't own a mortar and pestle, put the dow see on a cutting board and crush with the bowl of a wooden spoon.
• Prepare the sauce by combining the mashed dow see with the remaining ingredients except for the starch and the water.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot set over medium heat. Place the crab in the pot with the largest pieces on the bottom, legs on top. Stir-fry for five to six minutes, then spoon the sauce over the crab. Cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The crab shell will turn a bright orange colour. The sauce can be thickened with the cornstarch, tapioca, or arrowroot starch mixed with the water and added to the pan juices.

Notes: This sauce is used as the base for prawns or clams with black-bean sauce, green beans with black-bean sauce, or as a sauce for dow fu, chicken, or pork.
Most seafood specialty shops will clean and prepare crab for cooking.