Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Let's Get Crabby

Dungeness crab season started in the Bay Area about two weeks ago. This is my favorite time of year because I love crab, and it's one of the easiest food items to prepare. I never really liked crab growing up because I thought it was too much work breaking through the shell to get to my food. But after tasting fresh crab as an adult, I was hooked! The key is to have it fresh, which is why I always buy my crab live. The recipe below is the traditional way Chinese restaurants often prepare crab, and I find it's an easy recipe that highlights the natural flavor of the crab blending it with the subtle flavors of ginger and scallions.

Now, I was going to post a demo of how to chop and clean a live crab, but I happened to get a very feisty crab from Chinatown. And he did not want to be called dinner, and fought till the very end. So the chopping, while generally stress-free and humane, turned out to be a massacre that wasn't pretty for public viewing. Needless to say, the steps of butchering a live crab is not very difficult, but depending on the crab, can be quite challenging. Fresh crab meat still produces the best flavoring when cooked. But if you're afraid of live crab, then have your fishmonger kill it and clean it for you and then drive straight home and cook it.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi there single guy, I just found your blog. I appreciate your effort to show recipes for 1 or 2. I am also a single guy who enjoys cooking, and I need occasional inspiration. Even though I'm happy to eat my leftovers, I find that I enjoy the act of cooking, then eating the food.


Also, in your Dec. 2 post you mentioned how you like to visit grocery stores. I thought I was the only one who enjoys that peculiar pastime! It tells me so much about the community, culture, food production. Not to mention it's a great way to people-watch. I look forward to reading new posts and wading through old ones.

Single Guy Ben said...

Welcome to my blog Seth! I'm glad you like the recipes. By the way, I eat leftovers too! You'll see most of my recipes will make two servings, because I like to make enough for two dinners so I cook one night and just reheat the next. It's nice to just have a plate ready for my microwave, and it's so much better than TV dinners. :)

Enjoy!