Where do butter crabs come from? A detailed guide to the main production areas

Butter crab is a type of edible crab that has risen in popularity in southern China in recent years. It is hailed as the “king of crabs” and is a unique and precious seafood delicacy of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao region. Where is the origin of this delicious butter crab?

1. Butter crab origins

The main origins of butter crab are Lau Fau Shan in Hong Kong, China, and the Pearl River basin. This crab grows in areas where fresh and salt water meet, and yields are highest from late in the 5th lunar month to mid-August each year.

2. The origin of the name butter crab

Every hot summer during the spawning season, mature roe crabs settle on the shallow riverbanks to spawn. When the tide goes out, the intense sunlight raises the water temperature on the shallows. Stimulated by this, the crab roe inside the crab breaks down into a golden-yellow oily substance, which then permeates every part of the body. The whole crab becomes filled with butter, and its shell takes on an orange-yellow color, which is why it is called the butter crab.

3. What is a butter crab

The butter crab is actually a kind of roe crab, but not an ordinary roe crab: it is a mutated roe crab.

After the butter crab is steamed, its body takes on a color between red and yellow, and yellow oil is visible at every joint.

A cooked butter crab gives off a rich crab-oil aroma before you even take a bite, and when eaten it is even more sweet, fragrant, smooth and tender.

Because the yield and quality of butter crab are directly affected by the rearing environment and the weather, and because its production period is long, butter crab is extremely precious and its price is much higher than that of other crabs.

Although crab is delicious, it is, after all, a cooling food and high in cholesterol, so portion size should be kept in mind when eating it.