Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a soup pot over medium heat.

Add the finely chopped shallots and cook until softened.

Pour in 1 1/4 cups of white wine and simmer until almost all the liquid has evaporated, leaving about 1/2 cup.

Remove the pot from the heat and strain the wine mixture, discarding the cooked shallots.

Return the reduced wine to the pot and add 6 1/2 cups of crab or fish stock.

Bring the mixture to a boil.

While the soup base boils, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add the julienned carrots and leeks to the skillet.

Season with salt and sauté until the vegetables are just tender.

Remove the skillet from the heat and set the sautéed carrots and leeks aside.

In a small bowl, stir the cornstarch into 2 tablespoons of water to form a slurry.

Pour the cornstarch slurry and a large pinch of saffron into the boiling soup, stirring gently.

Continue to cook the soup for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

Stir in the sautéed carrots and leeks, followed by 2 cups of half-and-half or cream.

Cook the soup until it is very hot, but do not let it boil if using half-and-half.

Gently add the picked-over king crab meat to the soup.

Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the King Crab Soup hot.