I am a big fan of hairy crabs, but here in Singapore, not only do restaurants tend to over price it, its also hard to get really good ones. Firstly, most of the crabs here are from Tai Hu and not the authentic Yangcheng Hu ones. Secondly, most of the crabs are the male ones and not very large.
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| Female hairy crabs from Yangcheng Hu |
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| Female hairy crabs from Yangcheng Hu |
They are relatively simple to cook, just wash under the tap, scrubbing it lightly with a toothbrush (SQ disposable ones!), and then plonk in the steamer with a slice of ginger on top and steam for about 20 to 30 min depending on weight. Its easy to tell the female from male ones just by looking at the shape of the shell on the underside. Female ones are round while male ones are triangular.
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| Female hairy crabs from Yangcheng Hu |
People complain that eating hairy crab is difficult and troublesome. But actually there's a method to it that's quite easy to follow. Sorry no photos as my hands were pretty full!
This was my first time trying the female ones, which are supposed to be more expensive. The roe is harder than the male ones and slightly more concentrated in taste.
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| Male hairy crabs from Yangcheng Hu |
The male ones we managed to buy were much larger than the ones usually found in Singapore.
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| Male hairy crabs from Yangcheng Hu |
Super yummy! Most of us liked the male ones better, as the roe was soft and creamy and just melted all over our mouths.
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| Home-made ginger tea |
To end off the "cooling" crabs, was home-made ginger tea. It's surprisingly easy to make, and I loved the spiciness.
In case you're wondering, this exercise was not cheap....! But I guess if you compare like for like, its definitely cheaper to DIY at home, given how hard (and therefore expensive) it is to find Yangcheng Hu crabs in the first place, much less those of a comparable size. Will absolutely do this again next year if I get the chance!
