Steamed crabs

August 8, 2004
Filed under Filipino food, Seafood recipes

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steamed crabs Alimasag have spots and are generally smaller; alimango have a solid orange color and are bigger. There are many other varieties of crabs but these are the most common edible crabs in the Philippines. Talangka, treasured for its fat, are small crabs. Taba ng talangka, their fat, are bottled and sold as a local delicacy.

I don’t eat crabs–I am allergic to all kinds of crustaceans–but my husband and kids love them. We were in the Taytay market early thing morning and I thought I’d surprise them with a kilo of alimasag. We’re kind of craving for seafood these days since we haven’t eaten much seafood after the succession of typhoons sent the prices soaring. Prices were reasonable today and I thought I’d stock up the freezer with a variety of fish. I bought bangus (milkfish), hito (catfish), labahita and talakitok in addition to the crabs.

There were five crabs that, together, weighed a little over a kilo. My husband and kids finished four of them over lunch today. We had fried hito too since I wouldn’t be able to touch the crabs. We finished two pieces of hito, about 3/4 kilo, as well. Nobody asked for a mid-afternoon snack. We were that full.