Crab with Cross Like Mark on its Shell

I was about to work on my Curry Crab with Prawns posting when I noticed the distinct cross-like mark on the shell. Then I remembered reading in The Star about this species of crab causing a stir among Malacca Christians in Sept 2011. The photo of the crab in The Star has a cross like mark with black background on the shell. The one I have is of a lighter coloured shell, probably a close family to the Charybdisferiatus.

According to The Star, during the 16th century, Sir Francis Xavier was sailing from some Indonesian islands to Malacca when he was caught in a storm. He then dipped his crucifix into the sea and pray to God to calm the raging storm. Unfortunately, the crucifix slipped from his hand and dropped into the sea. He prayed to god that he could get it back. When he landed in Malacca he saw a crab on the beach clutching the same crucifix in its claw.Sir Francis was surprised and he knelt down to retrive the cross from the crab.
He then blessed the crab and the cross appeared on the crab shell.

So, next time whenever you are eating this species of crab, remember to look out for its distinct cross mark!...........
.....errrrr, if you spot any numbers on the shell, please let me know.....so I can go and bet on some 4D or Toto....lol!

Crab Crab Crab, Yummy Crab!

Papa took me to the morning wet market at Kepong and I saw someone selling live mud crabs. I was fascinated with the crabs which looks like some alien from outer space. Papa bought 1 kg of crab for RM12 from the vendor and I happily held on to my so called 'pets'. Yay!

I love looking at the crab crawling sideways. Papa put one in a clear container for me to look at.

Then, papa showed me the nasty pincers on the crab! According to papa, this is a male crab. Male crab has narrow abdomen or apron. Female crab has wider and round abdomen.

When I woke up from my afternoon nap, I found that papa has already cooked my 'pet crabs'! Waaaaaaaaa! They turned bright red! Actually, they tasted very nice! LOL!

Spicy Kam Heong Crab Recipe – Fresh!

These flower crabs were still alive and swimming in the bucket at the fishmonger stall when I bought them. Fresh flower crabs are very sweet if you cook it immediately after you cut and clean them. Kam Heong crab is one of the most popular dishes in many seafood restaurants. The kam heong sauce is spicy, sweet and has a very nice aroma. Kam Heong lala (shellfish) is also one of my favourite dishes and I prefer it cook this way rather than steaming. Ok, back to the crabs! After cutting and cleaning them, I drain the excess water away because I wanted to fry it dry with the kam heong gravy. Imagine all the nice gravy sticking to the crabs when you eat them! Delicious! LOL!

Ingredients
Crab, 1 kg, cut and cleaned, drain away excess water
Oyster sauce, 2 tablespoons
Dried Prawns, 2 tablespoons
Shallots, 5 pcs, chopped finely
Dark soya sauce, ½ teaspoon
Chili paste, 1 tablespoon
Bird Eye Chilli (Cili padi), 3 pcs, cut into thin slices
Sugar to taste Salt to taste
Curry leaves from 2 stalks
Curry powder, 1 teaspoon
Corn flour and water mixture

Heat up wok and put in around 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Sautéed dried prawns, shallots, chilli paste and curry powder until fragrant. Lower down the heat. Add in oyster sauce, dark soya sauce, bird eye chilli, salt, sugar and curry leaves. Put a little water if the gravy becomes too dry. Turn up the heat and put in the crab. Add in the corn flour and water mixture. Fry until the crab turn red. Serve while still hot!

Copyright Material of Peteformation Foodie Adventure

Simple Crab Curry Recipe – Rainy Day’s Catch at the Kepong Baru Wet Market!

It was raining when I woke up last weekend, so I have to wait for the rain to stop before driving out to the Kepong Baru wet market for my weekend marketing. I reached the market rather late, around 9am and saw a thin weekend crowd there. Since there are not many customers around, most of the vendors, especially fishmongers started selling their seafood at a discount. I bought a kilogramme of squid for only RM7 (USD 2). Then I saw my regular fishmonger have some flower crabs left at his stall and he sold them to me for RM1 (USD0.30) each! What a bargain! LOL! Since I have some leftover serai (lemongrass) in my fridge, I thought it would be a good idea to cook crab curry. I did not use santan (coconut milk) in my curry but you can add it to the recipe if you prefer the creamy taste. Curries that are cooked with crab would be full of natural sweetness and my kids love the gravy very much. Here is my Curry Crab recipe.

Ingredients

Crab, 3, cut into halves

Curry powder, 7 table spoons, mixed with a little water to make a paste

Mixed halba, 1 teaspoon

Chilly paste (optional), 1 tablespoon

Santan (coconut milk, optional), from ½ coconut

Lemongrass (Serai), 2 stalks, blend with onions

Onions, 2 pcs, blend with lemongrass

Ladies Fingers (okra) 10 pcs

Tofu pok, 5 pcs, cut into halves

Vegetable oil, 3 table spoons

Curry Leaves, 3 stalks, (optional)

Tamarind, 1 table spoon, soaks in water to make a paste and remove seeds

Salt to taste

Heat up pan and add in vegetable oil. Sautéed lemongrass and onion mixture until fragrant. Add in the curry paste, mixed halba, santan and chilly paste. Fry until nice aroma permeates the air. Add in the curry leaves and ladies fingers. Pour in a little water and bring to a boil. Then add in the crab, tofu pok (deep fried tofu), tamarind juice and salt to taste. Eat with steamed rice, bread, roti chanai or naan!

Copyright Material of Peteformation Foodie Adventure

Crab Meat and Minced Pork Wrapped with Pig’s Caul Linings (Chee Mong Yaw) Recipe

Whole bunch of Chee Mong Yaw.......................This is how the net looks like!

Fillings for the Chee Mong Yaw Rolls.............................All wrapped up!

This is how it looks like after deep frying!

Pig’s caul linings (in Cantonese, Chee Mong Yaw) are lacy white membranes that lined the pig’s stomach. This membrane is thin and transparent, with white fibre like net, is very ideal wrapper for spiced minced meat with crab meat. Normally, the Chee Mong Yaw (caul linings) have to be pre ordered from the butcher but one weekend I happened to chance upon it being sold by a pork seller in the Kepong wet market. I got the whole bucket full for only RM2, more than enough for me to use to wrap my mixed spiced minced meat and crab meat. I first saw this membrane was used for cooking when I visited my classmate in Lenggong, Perak more than 20 years ago. As far as I can remember, her mom makes the best spiced crabmeat rolls using Chee Mong Yaw as a wrapper. Well, I don’t have the actual recipe, but this is my modified version.

Ingredients Chee Mong Yaw (caul linings), 20 pcs, washed and cleaned

Fillings
Crabmeat, 1 can
Pork, 600gms, minced
Five Spice Powder, 1 table spoon
Salt to taste
Sugar, 1 table spoon
Corn flour, 2 table spoons
Water Chestnut, 5 pcs, skinned and cut into small pieces
Cilantro or Chinese Coriander, 1 stalk, chopped into small pieces
Pepper, ½ teaspoon
Onions, 3 pcs, chopped finely
Carrots, 1 pc, chopped finely

Mixed all the ingredients for fillings well. Scoop some fillings onto the Chee Mong Yau and wrap it up just like wrapping five spices meat rolls. Deep fry the Chew Mong Yaw rolls in vegetable oil until golden brown. Cut into bite sizes and serve. Best eaten with white rice.

Related Recipe :

1) http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2008/11/authentic-penang-lobak-5-spice-meat.html