Is the butter crab a river crab or a sea crab? When is the best time to eat it and how should you eat it?

The butter crab is one of the more expensive crab species, famous for the large amount of yellow fat contained in the joints of its legs and shell. Its price is calculated by the liang (a Chinese unit of weight), so ordinary people cannot afford it. So is the butter crab a sea crab or a river crab? When is the best time to eat it? How should you eat it?

The butter crab is a sea crab. Its predecessor is the roe crab, the female of the mud crab (Scylla serrata), so its appearance is no different from that of the roe crab. The difference is that the steamed crab's body color falls between red and yellow, and yellow fat can be seen through the joints of the shell and legs. According to local experts, during the hot summer spawning season, mature roe crabs settle along 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 golden-yellow oily matter, which then permeates every part of the body. The whole crab becomes filled with butter and its body takes on an orange-yellow color, hence the name butter crab. Because the yield and quality of butter crabs are directly affected by the rearing environment and weather, and the production period is not long, butter crabs are considered especially precious.

When to eat?

Butter crabs are known for their rich, fragrant oil and roe and their tender, fresh meat. The best time to eat butter crabs is usually only the short period of just over two months from the end of the fifth lunar month to mid-eighth lunar month. It is now September, so friends should not miss this great time to feast on butter crabs.

The most delicious season for butter crabs is the seventh and eighth lunar months, unlike the Chinese mitten crab. Every year from May to August, at the meeting point of the sea and the Pearl River Estuary, many roe crabs crawl ashore to bask in the sun and shed their shells. At this time, the butter crab looks no different from the roe crab; the difference is that the crab's body shows a color between red and yellow, and yellow fat can be seen through the joints of the shell and legs. Its plump “figure” is enough to make anyone's mouth water.

How to eat:

1. Pan-fried butter crab

Ingredients: 3 butter crabs, 1 piece of ginger, 20 ml cooking wine, 15 g cornstarch, a little salt, an appropriate amount of oil, 1 scallion.

Method: Wash the crabs clean, split the scallion in half lengthwise, cut the ginger into 6 large slices and shred the rest, and cut the scallion into sections. Use the ginger slices with an appropriate amount of salt to seal the cut openings of the crabs. Add oil to the wok; when the oil is 50 percent hot, dip the cut openings of the crabs in cornstarch and place them cut-side down in the wok. Once the cut surfaces have set and turned golden yellow, lay the crab pieces flat, sprinkle with shredded ginger and scallion and garlic, drizzle with cooking wine, cover and simmer for about 7 minutes. After 7 minutes, turn the crab pieces over and continue covered simmering for about 3 more minutes, then serve.

2. Chili butter crab

Ingredients: 600 g butter crab, 2 green and 2 red chilies, 3 bird's eye chilies, 1 tablespoon minced ginger, 1 teaspoon minced garlic;

Seasonings: 1 teaspoon each light soy sauce and fish sauce, half a teaspoon salt, a little sesame oil and pepper, half a cup water;

Thickening mixture: half a teaspoon cornstarch, 2 tablespoons water

Method: Wash the butter crab clean, cut into 4 to 6 pieces, keeping the shell intact. Dice the green and red chilies. Heat oil until very hot, dust the crab pieces with a little cornstarch, put them in to flash-fry in the oil, then remove and drain off the oil. Add 2 tablespoons oil and saute the minced ginger, minced garlic, bird's eye chilies and diced green and red chilies until fragrant. Return the crab to the wok and toss evenly, add the seasonings and bring to a boil, thicken with the cornstarch mixture and serve.