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It was almost closing time and the fishmonger offered a bucketful of blue crabs for $10. I looked at the woman who was standing next to me and has been eye-ing the bucket for the longest time. I helped her made a quick decision by offering to split the bucket. We did and I left the Rochester Public Market with more than 40 blue crabs in tow. My friend invited me to cook at his place so off I went. Thankfully the crabs were long dead in the ice but I had to split the crabs into halves! It was my very first time handling crabs but I was confident I could do it by recalling the countless times I'd watched my mom cutting and cleaning mud crabs. These recipes were concocted out of the spur that day, purely experimental. Enjoy!
Split blue crabs and their pinchers
Pepper Crabs Recipe
Ingredients:
5 to 7 medium size crabs, 2 tbs oil, 3 shallots, 3 cloves of garlic, 2 to 3 Thai chiles, 2 tsp curry powder, 1 tbs oyster sauce, 0.5 cup water, 1 tbs freshly ground pepper and a couple of dashes of Bourbon
Procedures:
1. Scrub and wash the crabs properly to remove any grit. Remove gills, intestine and triangular section of the crab. Cut the crabs with a sharp knife. Cut the pinchers from the bodies
2. Mince the shallots and garlic
3. Slice the Thai chiles
4. In a pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic and Thai chili slices. Stir until shallots turn translucent and garlic turns brown
5. Add the crabs and pinchers. Stir and cover the pot for 5 minutes
6. Add water, curry powder, ground pepper, Bourbon and oyster sauce. Stir and cover the pot for another 5 minutes
7. Stir occasionally until the crabs' shells turn red in color and the meat is no longer translucent but flaky and not dry
8. Serve hot with a cold glass of beer!
Chili Crabs Recipe
Ingredients:
5 to 7 medium size crabs, 2 tbs oil, 3 shallots, 3 cloves of garlic, 2 to 3 Thai chiles, 1 tsp soy sauce, 2 tbs tomato ketchup, 1 egg, 0.5 cup water and a few pinches of freshly ground pepper
Procedures:
1. Scrub and wash the crabs properly to remove any grit. Remove gills, intestine and triangular section of the crab. Cut the crabs with a sharp knife. Cut the pinchers from the bodies
2. Mince the shallots and garlic
3. Slice the Thai chiles
4. In a pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic and Thai chili slices. Stir until shallots turn translucent and garlic turns brown
5. Add the crabs and pinchers. Stir and cover the pot for 5 minutes
6. Add water, ketchup, egg, ground pepper and soy sauce. Stir and cover the pot for another 5 minutes
7. Stir occasionally until the crabs' shells turn red in color and the meat is no longer translucent but flaky and not dry
8. Serve hot. Enjoy!
You can sprinkle some fresh herbs like green onions or parsley as a topping.
Cooked crabs are best eaten with your hands. Use a crab cracker to break hard shells. If you don't own one, you can use a nut cracker or a clean pair of pliers.
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