The northern Atlantic coast is known for its blue crabs. While vacationing in Virginia Beach, my family went to the fish market called the Shellfish Company and bought fresh blue crabs right off of the boat. My Aunt Qua created this simple and easy dish for us. Needless to say, the taste testers ate all of the crabs as soon as they were prepared.

This recipe is rated easy and serves 4 people.

Ingredients:

6 female blue crabs (as you will need the roe)

1/4 teaspoon of chicken bouillon powder

3/4 teaspoon of sugar

1/8 teaspoon of salt

1/8 teaspoon of pepper

1/3 cup of yellow onion

3 cloves of garlic (approximately 2 tablespoons)

1 stalk of scallion

1 Thai Chili

Directions:

Prepare the crabs

Twist the tail off of the crab and discard.

Snap off the claws and legs.

Use a towel and pull apart the shell of the crab and get rid of the grey, furry-looking thing (the lungs).

One side of the shell will have the body of the crab. The other side will be hollow and usually contains the crab roe (orange stuff) and other goodies.

Scoop out the creamy innards, roe, and any briny juices from the curve of the shell into a bowl. This will be the base of our roe sauce.

Split each crab in half and break the claws into 2 pieces.

Mince 3 cloves of garlic (approx. 2 tablespoons) and dice ⅓ cup of yellow onions.

Thinly dice 1 stalk of scallions and 1 Thai chili.  Remove the seeds if you want less heat.

To the bowl of raw crabs, add ⅛ teaspoon of salt, ⅛ teaspoon of pepper, ¼  teaspoon of chicken bouillon powder, and ¾ teaspoon of sugar.

Add 3 tablespoons of oil to the pan on high heat.  Add the scallion and onion to the oil and sautee for a few seconds.  Add the garlic and then add the crab.  Mix and continue to stir the ingredients together. 

When the crabs start to turn red, turn the heat to medium.  Continue to stir and add the Thai chili. After 5 minutes (from when you put the crab into the pot), add the crab roe and stir for another 5 minutes.  

Turn off the heat and plate.  Enjoy this crab dish with rice.

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Contributor:  Qua Tran

Author: Chau Hoang