When Stone Crab (Charybdis japonica) Comes on the Market: The Fattest and Most Delicious Season, How It Differs from Mud Crab, and How to Eat It

The stone crab (Charybdis japonica) is one of the most popular sea crabs in Qingdao. Because of its large size, plump meat and delicious flavor, it is deeply loved by people. It generally comes on the market around the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. So when is the stone crab at its fattest? Which season is it most delicious? How do you eat it? What is the difference between it and the mud crab?

Time on the market:

The stone crab is a large sea crab. Especially the stone crabs caught around the 15th day of the 8th lunar month are all plump and delicious, and the stone crabs abundantly produced along the coast of Qingdao are especially famous far and wide. Eating them at this time is also when they taste best.

When is it at its fattest:

Stone crabs are fattest in late spring and at Mid-Autumn. Fishermen often say “wheat-yellow crab” and “bean-yellow crab”, referring to the crabs of these two seasons. A local saying also goes, “August crabs are fat to the top of the shell” and “eat pointed navel in spring, round navel in autumn”. The former means that the 8th lunar month is when crabs are fattest; the latter means that in spring the male crab (with a pointed navel) is large, tender and at its freshest, while in autumn the female crab (with a round navel) is full of fat and roe and tastes the most fragrant.

How to eat it?

1. Cut off the crab's eight legs, including the two large claws, and let them cool. The meat inside will then separate from the shell on its own, making it easy to poke out or even suck out, so leave these to eat last.

2. Remove the crab flap (the small lid on the crab's belly; male and female crabs have different shapes), and lift off the crab shell along the way;

3. Eat the shell part first. Use a small spoon to scoop out the crab stomach in the middle, and gently suck clean the crab roe wrapped around the outside. Be careful not to break the triangular cone-shaped crab stomach in the middle; it should be discarded;

4. After finishing the shell, move on to the crab body. First use scissors to cut off the excess crab legs, crab mouth and crab lungs;

5. Use the handle of a spoon to pick out a hexagonal flake in the middle of the crab body. That is the crab heart; discard it;

6. Use a small spoon to drizzle a little vinegar over the crab body, then eat the crab roe and crab paste from the body clean;

7. Break the crab body into two halves; you will see thread-like crab meat. Just tear along the crab legs to pull the crab meat out. A crab shell eaten clean is complete and semi-transparent;

8. Use scissors to cut the crab legs into three sections; the last section, the crab leg tip, can serve as a tool. First use the thin end of the crab leg tip to poke out the meat from the middle section of the crab leg, then use the thick end of the crab leg tip to poke out the meat from the front section of the crab leg;

9. Divide the crab claws into three sections. For the first two sections, you can cut the shell open directly and scoop out the meat with a spoon. For the last claw, the trick is to cut open both sides, then use your hands to bend the two claw legs in opposite directions, and the claw shell will separate completely;

10. The crab shell eaten this way may not necessarily be pieced back together perfectly into the shape of a crab, but it will still be laid out in an orderly way, with not a shred of meat left. After eating, wash your hands and drink a cup of warm ginger tea. Taking a whole meal's time to eat one crab still feels satisfying.

Difference from the mud crab:

The stone crab (officially called Charybdis japonica) is a large sea crab. Especially the stone crabs caught around the 15th day of the 8th lunar month are all plump and delicious, and the stone crabs abundantly produced along the coast of Qingdao are especially famous far and wide. Large adults weigh over a jin, and even the small ones weigh about half a jin. Its main features are: the crab's back is reddish, and the crab claws are clearly larger and harder than those of the swimming crab.

The mud crab has an oval carapace, a flat, hairless body, a well-developed head and thorax, and strong powerful chelae. Its rear legs are shaped like oars, hence the name “oar crab”. The carapace is about 1.5 times as wide as it is long, with a raised, smooth back; the surface of the carapace has a distinct “H”-shaped groove; the forehead has 4 protruding triangular teeth, roughly equal in size and spacing. The front lateral margins have 9 similarly sized protruding triangular teeth.

The chelipeds are smooth and asymmetrical, with the right leg slightly larger than the left; the palm segment is swollen and smooth, with 2 granular ridges on the back, each ending in 1 spine. The first three pairs of walking legs have no teeth, and the front and rear margins of the dactylus have brush-like short hairs.