Name: Steamed Blue Crabs with Black Ginger Dipping Sauce
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: Makes 6 servings
Ingredients: 1/2 cup fresh cilantro stems, coarsely chopped; 36 live blue crabs (1/4 to 1/3 lb each; 3 dozen), well rinsed; 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger; 1/2 cup fermented fine-quality soy sauce; 1/4 cup sugar; 1/4 cup water; 3 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar* (preferably Chinkiang) or cider vinegar; 1/4 teaspoon salt; a wide 6- to 8-qt heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid

Image may contain Bowl Human Person Coffee Cup Cup Food Confectionery and Sweets

Steamed Blue Crabs with Black Ginger Dipping SauceMikkel Vang

Blue crabs take a little more work to eat than larger crabs like Dungeness, but their sweet flavor is worth the extra effort. Blue crabs are commercially harvested from New York to Florida — including, most famously, Chesapeake Bay — and the Gulf Coast states. The best are available from late summer to early fall. If you're landlocked or on the West Coast, you can order live blue crabs from The Crab Place (877-328-2722; crabplace.com).

Recipe notes

Béchamel Sauce

This classic 15-minute sauce is your secret weapon for homemade mac and cheese, chowder, lasagna, and more.

Caramelized Onion Pasta

Turn humble onions into this thrifty yet luxe pasta dinner.

Butternut Squash–Kale Salad With Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette

Round out these autumn greens with tart pomegranate seeds, crunchy pepitas, and a shower of Parmesan.

Crème Anglaise

The silky French vanilla sauce that goes with everything.

Our Favorite French Onion Soup

Caramelized onions, melty Gruyère, and a deeply savory broth deliver the kind of comfort that doesn’t need improving.

Mascarpone Cheesecake

An extra-silky filling (no water bath needed!) and a smooth sour cream topping make this the ultimate cheesecake.

Vodka Gochujang Pasta

This pasta has some really big energy about it. It’s so extra, it’s the type of thing you should be eating in your bikini while drinking a magnum of rosé, not in Hebden Bridge (or wherever you live), but on a beach on Mykonos.

Okonomiyaki Tater Tots

Crispy tots topped with savory-sweet sauce, mayonnaise, furikake, scallion, and katsuobushi.