Mud Crabs aka Egg Crabs

Wholely crab !!! Yes, I was quite "thankful" when I chanced upon a "tankful" of one of my favorite shellfish the other day - the "Mud Crab".

Though the name itself might be a put-off, I'm sure most seafood connoisseur will agree that the taste is a different story altogether.Don't mean to come off sounding sexist, but IMHO only the female mud crabs, also known as "egg crabs", are the ones that really make good eating. Haha.. go figure.

The mud crab is not as fleshy as the dungeness crab, so I always choose the heavy ones to get more flesh for my buck. Besides, the heavier they are, the fresher they are too.The mud crab is rarer than its cousins in the North American market, which is why it comes with a higher price tag here. Here in Los Angeles, it is around ten to fifteen dollars when its in season and can easily go above twenty dollars off-season.

So you can imagine my joy when I found a couple of "drop dead" gorgeous female mud crabs for only three dollars per pound at the market. Yes, I mean they had literally just "dropped dead" a couple of hours ago that's why they were so cheap. Lucky me:) Ooooo.. check out the orange eggs hidden under their shells, delicious aren't they ?

So tell me, what is your best crab recipe that I can use for these lovely ladies ?

First off, thank you kindly for all your equally tantalizing suggestions. I can't wait to try each and every one of them next time I have my crustacean guests over for dinner again :P

This time around, since they were DOA (dead on arrival), I'm just going to quickly whip something up with whatever I have sitting pretty in my fridge while they are still fresh. Finally, I can indulge in my own "roe" fantasy after drooling over these for days. Also, don't forget to hop over to Bee and Mae for more yummylicious crab recipes that's bound to rock your socks off !!

So, people, get your bib on, whip out your crab cracker, and let the crab fest begin! :)

Lemongrass And Pepper Crab Recipe

Ingredients :
2 medium sized egg crabs ( cleaned, claws removed and lightly cracked, torso cut in half )
1/2 stalk of fresh lemongrass ( cut )
2-3 dried bay leaves
2 shallots ( minced )
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tbsp fermented soy beans ( mashed )
3-4 dried chili pods ( optionally remove seeds for a milder taste )
cut green bell peppers
1 tbsp crushed black peppercorn
1 tbsp crushed white peppercorn
chinese rice wine ( OR other cooking wine )
salt and sugar to taste

Method :
1) Rub minced shallots, garlic, and ginger all over the crab torsos, and steam for 5 minutes. ( The claws need not included as they cooked easily. )
2) Saute lemongrass, bay leaves, soy beans, bell peppers, and chili pods in wok until fragrant.
3) Dump steamed crab parts and raw crab claws into wok. Dash in the crushed black and white peppercorn, and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
4) Splash in a generous amount of rice wine, and any crab "juice" leftover from the steaming. Add salt and sugar to taste.
5) Cover wok and let simmer for another 5 minutes.

Glass Noodles Stir Fry

The age-old debate on who invented the noodles was finally settled when they found a 4,000-year-old bowl of noodles in China a couple of years back. Today, owls of noodles can be found all over the world in a variety of shapes and sizes. The more popular ones are the Chinese yellow noodles and rice vermicelli, the Italian spaghetti and macaroni, and the Japanese udon and soba to name a few. Speaking of noodles, can anyone enlighten me on how the phrase "using your noodle" came about to mean "using your brain"? :P

One particular noodle I haven't had in a while is the "glass noodle", named for it's translucent appearance when cooked. It is also called "bean thread" because it is made from mung bean, not to be mistaken with the rice vermicelli, which is quite similar uncooked. I haven't tried this noodle in a while because there were rumors of lead-poisoning surrounding it a few years ago. I'm glad the whole mess is finally cleared up so I can finally get to enjoy it once again.

Two of the more popular dishes associated with glass noodles recipes are the Szechuan style "Ants Climbing A Tree" and the Thai style "Pad Woon Sen". Both are stir fried but glass noodles also go great in soups or salads. The dish I'm preparing today is a simple quick stir fry recipe similar to the "Pad Woon Sen" but I'm going to kick it up a notch by adding a little unsalted fermented soy beans, which I prefer to the salted black beans because of its rich bean-ier flavor.

Ingredients :
2 bundles glass noodles
1 lbs sole fish fillet sliced
minced garlic
shredded ginger
5 asparagus thinly sliced
red bell pepper strips
1 tbsp fermented soy beans ( unsalted )
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp shaoxing cooking wine
sesame oil
sugar to taste

Method :

1) Boil a pot of water, turn off the heat and soak the glass noodles for 3 minutes.
2) Rinse in cold, running tap water, and then set aside.
3) Marinade the fish fillets with some oyster sauce, fish sauce, and then set aside.
4) Saute 1/2 portion of both shredded ginger and minced garlic until fragrant, add in the pre-marinated the fish fillets and pan fry on both sides until browned, toss in the sliced asparagus, red bell pepper strips, continue stir fry for 1 minute, and then set aside.
5) Heat the wok or skillet to a smoky point, saute the fermented soy beans and the remaining shredded ginger and minced garlic until fragrant.
6) Quickly add the chilled glass noodles in and stir fry on high heat until the fermented soy beans flavors completely infused into the glass noodles.
7) Splash the soy sauce, cooking wine, sesame oil and sugar to taste and mix well.
8) Dish up and serve with the pan fried sole fish fillets.