Crab 'em and eat 'em

photo Nelson Mail

Some things you may not know about crabs are that they walk sideways and can be found everywhere in the world. There are somewhere between 5000 to 7000 species of them, depending on which authority on the subject you read. They can be found in all the oceans of the world, as well as in fresh water and even on the land, particularly in tropical regions.

Crab make up 20 per cent of all marine crustaceans caught and farmed worldwide, with well over 1 million tonnes consumed annually.

As a result of their occurrence in so many places, they feature in the cuisine of many countries. Some crab is eaten whole, shell and all, such as soft-shell crab, while for other crab it is the claws and legs that are mainly eaten, along with as much meat as can be extracted under the shell.

Paddle crab is the species found in New Zealand on sandy beaches, estuaries and harbours. They are mostly active at night, when they move to tidal areas to feed. Females moult (hence soft-shell crab) and can mate only when in this state.

Local crab fishermen know how to avoid the moulting crab, as they are soft shelled in different areas at different times.

The crab fishery is managed in New Zealand by strict quotas and, normally, paddle crab is caught using baited traps or pots.

If you love the taste of crab or want to experiment, here is a daring method for catching them without a pot or trap.

Go to a beach such as Rabbit Island, or Torrent Bay or Awaroa in the Abel Tasman, at low tide, especially at a spring tide. Take a bucket and a rake and, with bare feet, walk out in the tide to the point where the sand becomes soft and squelchy under your feet (this may mean being up to the top of your legs in water - you need to have bare feet because you need to be able to feel the texture of the sand).

On reaching sand of the right texture, start raking in front of you. The crab will grab a hold of the rake with its claws. Swiftly lift the rake with crab attached and toss the crab into your bucket. Voila!

Other than this method, you need to rely on Guytons or supermarkets to stock crab for you.

Crab is caught commercially in the Nelson bays area throughout the year. Aqua Fresh (a local company) catches between 18 and 23 tonnes of crab a year and supplies supermarkets throughout New Zealand.

This means that crab could be available to us all in Nelson via our local supermarkets pretty much constantly, except when bad weather affects the catch. So it is up to us as consumers to let our supermarkets know that we want crab - it is there for the taking.

Currently, Nelson suppliers are requesting only limited orders, so our local crab travels around the country.

Other than in the whole, fresh, living form, you can obtain them whole, fresh and cooked, as fresh diced meat, as frozen diced meat and canned.

A crab worth eating will have its legs intact and will feel heavy. When you buy fresh crab, the legs should be moving, and if it is cooked, the legs should not be limp.

Crab is a great source of protein and has lots of omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins and minerals. So it is well worth mastering the art of extracting the flesh from the shells.

To prepare crab meat, follow these steps. Learning how to do this will make your experience of crab much easier.

• First, kill the crab by either forcing a sharp knife through the indented spot just above the tail flap on its underside - this kills the crab instantly -
  
  or by putting it in boiling water.
• Cook it by boiling it for 10 minutes in a small amount of water. Rinse in cold water.
• Hold the back legs and with the crab facing you, lift the shell off. Then remove the gills.
• To extract the flesh, cut the crab in half with a sharp knife. Separate out the legs, claws and body and carefully extract the meat from each part of the body.

The flesh of the paddle crab is white, crisp, moist and delicious. It combines brilliantly with chilli and there are many recipes for chilli crab.
A recipe follows, along with another peppery version, salt and pepper crab. Crab cakes are also delicious and can be made using either fresh or canned crab.

Crab cakes
Ingredients:
500g of crab meat
1 red or green pepper
1 small red chilli
zest of 1 lime
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup of coconut, freshly grated or dried
1 tbsp of chickpea flour
a handful of chopped coriander or Italian parsley Combine the crab meat, diced peppers, lime zest, coconut, egg, flour and herbs, season with salt and shape into cakes. Chill for an hour to help them keep their shape.

Fry in a little hot oil until they are golden brown. Serve with a sauce made of 200ml of good-quality coconut milk, 3-4 tbsp of sweet chilli sauce, 1 kaffir lime leaf finely chopped, juice from a lime, two tsp of fish sauce and fresh coriander or parsley. Combine all the ingredients and gently simmer until well combined.

Salt and pepper crab
Ingredients:
1 crab per person, for up to six
50g of sea salt
50g of black peppercorns
6 spring onions
1 litre of oil

Pound the salt and pepper together in a mortar until fine.

Kill the crab and then remove the shell and wash thoroughly. Cut into quarters. Heat the oil in a wok until very hot and add the quartered crab. Fry for at least 5 minutes. Remove and drain. Remove the oil from the wok except for a little to refry the crab pieces along with a good spoonful of the salt and pepper mixture and the spring onions chopped finely. Fry until the crab is golden brown. Drain again. Serve with lots of fresh lime juice.

Chilli crab
Ingredients:
4 cloves of garlic
4 hot chillies with the seeds (try using one chipotle chilli in this mix for an extra smoky flavour)
1 red onion
3-4 sprigs of mint
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 crab per person, for up to six

120g of coconut milkIn a food processor, blend the first five ingredients to make a paste. Heat a wok and add 2 tbsp of olive oil, add the paste and stir for a few minutes. Add quartered crab meat (as per the recipe for salt and pepper crab) and stir fry until the crab has turned orange. This will take 6-8 minutes, depending on the size of the crab. Stir in the coconut milk and serve immediately the milk has warmed through.