I ordered a kilo of crabs from my fiancee's sister and they arrived last night. I have not eaten in a dampa restaurant for a while and I missed the buttered shrimp and crabs. When I was asked if I wanted to order some crabs, I immediately asked for a kilo to be set aside for me.

Crabs are classified into two general types :Sea crabs which are called alimasag and Mud crabs which are called alimango. Alimango  are usually found in river deltas, nipa palm groves and mangrove swamps. The crabs that I bought came from a fishpond in the Visayas. They were wrapped in a small plastic bag and had their claws tied up for safety. These crabs were alive and feisty. I tapped them each on their backs and they reacted quickly. I'd probably have a very nasty wound if their claws weren't tied up.

Purchase only live crabs. Try to poke them to check if they how fast they react. The livelier the crab the better. Be careful when handling live crab, they have sharp claws and they are strong enough to puncture skin.

Make sure that you clean the crabs thoroughly before cooking. Since these are live crabs I precooked them in boiling water until the crabs stopped moving. Remove the crabs immediately from the hot water as soon as you can. We don't want to waste that very tasty crab fat. We used a tooth brush to scrub out the remaining mud and grit from the crabs. You also need to pry open the belly and scrub that clean too.

Experienced crab vendors and cooks will kill and clean the crab in one go. I have not seen this done yet so I opted to scald them in hot water first.

I will post a more detailed cleaning process in the future.

Ingredients:
1 kg alimango / mud crabs cleaned well
2 medium sized onions, chopped
1 medium sized garlic, chopped
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1 tsp salt

1. Melt butter  or margarine in a wok or deep pan.. Don't use teflon pans; crab carapace is hard enough to scrape the teflon coating.
2. Add chopped garlic, stir for a bit and let garlic brown slightly
3. Add chopped onions and let sweat.
4. Once onion is translucent, add cleaned crabs.
5. Stir  until crabs are coated by the sauteed garlic and onion. Add salt to taste.
6. Set stove to lowest heat and cover the pan. Let it simmer for 5-10 minutes to let the crab's juices and fat out.

You will notice at this point that you will have a very tasty sauce on the bottom of the pan. This is my favorite part of the dish, I love mixing that sauce with plain white rice.

If you don't have a crab cracker.  you can crack the crab claws before serving. You can also chop the crab itself before sauteeing.

If you will use butter for sauteeing, try to regulate the heat closely. Butter smokes at a lower temperature compared to margarine, so it burns easily. Once it melts try to sautee the ingredients immediately.

Best to eat these crabs with your hands. Enjoy!

Til next time.