Tsugani-jiru Mitten Crab Soup
Quick answer
- Total time
- 75 min
- Level
- Hard
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 8
About this dish
Tsugani-jiru is a river-basin soup from Kochi made by finely crushing Japanese mitten crab with its shell, diluting and straining it, then heating the liquid until crab proteins gather into soft curds.
Read more
It was eaten in autumn when crabs moved downstream through the Shimanto, Niyodo, and Monobe rivers, with eggplant and the peeled stalk called ryukyu. Raw freshwater crab can carry parasites and environmental contaminants and can spread microbes through splashes. Use only fresh crab sold for cooking by a licensed food supplier, never self-caught crab. Keep a separate raw-crab work zone, strain without splashing, and immediately bring the liquid to a full boil for at least five minutes before finishing the vegetables.
Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Heat
Transport 500g mitten crabs immediately in a sealed container over ice at 4°C or colder and cook the same day.
Set aside a raw-crab board, knife, tongs, and lidded heavy-duty grinder separate from vegetable tools, and wear gloves.
- 2Step
Hold crabs with tongs under cold water and remove the top shell and abdominal flap.
Add 200ml from the measured 1L water, close the grinder, and pulse repeatedly until shell and flesh are fine. Keep the lid away from your face and wipe splashes immediately.
- 3Prep
Place ground crab in a fine sieve and gradually work the remaining 800ml water through it into a sanitized pot.
Press for liquid without forcing shell fragments through. Seal and discard shells, wash raw-crab tools and sink with detergent, sanitize with a food-contact sanitizer, and wash hands again.
- 4Control
Immediately place strained crab liquid over high heat and stir to the bottom until fully boiling.
Adjust to medium-high to prevent overflow and maintain a continuous boil for 5 minutes. Do not taste or use it with other foods before this heating step.
- 5Control
Cut 1 eggplant into 5mm half-moons and 0.5 peeled ryukyu stalk into 5mm slices.
Add to boiling crab liquid and simmer 10 minutes, allowing crab proteins to gather like soft egg curds.
- 6Season
Add 22.5ml soy sauce, 5g salt, and 30ml sake and boil 3 minutes more, confirming the entire soup remains above 90°C.
On a clean board, shred 3 shiso leaves and scatter over filled bowls.
- 7Heat
Within 2 hours of cooking, divide leftovers into containers no deeper than 5cm, refrigerate at 4°C or colder, and consume by the next day. Reheat the entire portion to a full boil and do not store it again after reheating.
Practical Cooking Checks
The cues that matter most while cooking.
- Key technique
- Rich liquid strained from whole crushed crab
- Finish cue
- Add to boiling crab liquid and simmer 10 minutes, allowing crab proteins to gather like soft egg curds.
- Avoid this
- Do not make this at home unless a licensed supplier verifies the crabs for food use and cooking.
- Storage and reheating
- Within 2 hours of cooking, divide leftovers into containers no deeper than 5cm, refrigerate at 4°C or colder, and consume by the next day.
Cooking decision evidence
Calculated Charim data and applicable official food safety guidance.
This recipe
75min, 8 ingredients
Category median
45min, 8 ingredients
Based on 242 recipes
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