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  "conceptKind": "dish",
  "createdAt": "2026-10-31T04:01:30+08:00",
  "id": "concept_mala_crayfish",
  "lang": "en",
  "revision": 20,
  "slug": "mala-crayfish",
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "zhwiki",
      "title": "麻辣小龙虾（维基百科）",
      "url": "https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%BA%BB%E8%BE%A3%E5%B0%8F%E9%BE%99%E8%99%BE"
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  "status": "published",
  "summary": "Mala crayfish is a spicy dish made with red swamp crayfish, commonly eaten as a late-night snack or with alcohol. Its spread is associated with the crayfish festival in Xuyi, Jiangsu, and events on Guijie in Beijing. “Thirteen-spice” is a conventional name for a blend that may contain more than twenty spices.",
  "tags": [],
  "title": "Mala crayfish",
  "type": "concept",
  "updatedAt": "2026-10-31T04:01:30+08:00",
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---

# Mala crayfish

Mala crayfish is a spicy dish made with red swamp crayfish, commonly eaten as a late-night snack or with alcohol. Its spread is associated with the crayfish festival in Xuyi, Jiangsu, and events on Guijie in Beijing. “Thirteen-spice” is a conventional name for a blend that may contain more than twenty spices.

Mala crayfish, also called *maxiao* or *maxiao'er*, is made primarily with red swamp crayfish (*Procambarus clarkii*). It is commonly eaten as a late-night snack or with alcoholic drinks. [^zhwiki]

## Origins and spread

Xuyi County in Jiangsu began holding a crayfish festival in 2000, when crayfish were mainly stir-fried. Xuyi crayfish later spread to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai and other areas. After 2001, mala crayfish appeared in Beijing, including on Guijie. Guijie held its first “Mala Crayfish Festival” in 2002, helping the dish gain popularity in Beijing and elsewhere. [^zhwiki]

## The “thirteen-spice” flavour

In Xuyi’s “thirteen-spice mala crayfish,” “thirteen-spice” is a conventional name. The seasoning may in fact combine more than twenty spices and can produce several flavour profiles. The name therefore does not mean that the recipe contains a fixed set of exactly thirteen spices. [^zhwiki]

## Eating

Mala crayfish is commonly found at night markets and served as a late-night snack or with alcohol. Diners usually remove the shell when eating it. [^zhwiki]

更新时间：2026-10-31

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## 正文反向链接

- [网红美食](/en/concepts/wanghong-meishi.html)

## 来源

- 麻辣小龙虾（维基百科）：https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%BA%BB%E8%BE%A3%E5%B0%8F%E9%BE%99%E8%99%BE