Eating Hairy Crabs 大閘蟹 is a centuries old tradition in Shanghai. Hairy Crab season in Shanghai is like durian season in Malaysia and Singapore. When in season, Hairy Crab sellers pop up all over Shanghai city. The Hairy Crab season is from September to December, with the peak in October and November.
Some are large shops that specialise in Hairy Crabs. The shop premises are sublet to tenants or deal in other business during the Hairy Crab off season. Some are restaurants that set up special Hairy Crab departments when the crustaceans are in season.
Others are simply peddlers who managed to get their hands on supplies and set up temporarily stalls to cash in on the demand.
Like durians there are many different grades of Hairy Crabs depending on its size and more importantly, it's origin. Hairy Crabs from Yangcheng Lake are considered the best because of the lake's pristine environment. Yangcheng Lake Hairy Crabs command a huge premium over the crabs from, for example, Taihu Lake.
It's probably harder to get a real Yangcheng Lake Hairy Crab than to get a premium durian like, for example, Mao Shan Wang. Where there are identifying features of Mao Shan Wang that set it apart from lesser grades of durian, there is none for Hairy Crabs. The different grades of crabs are the same species, just from different lakes.
Female crabs have a round palm shaped apron
Male crabs have a bell shaped apron
As all Hairy Crabs look exactly the same, traders are known to transplant crabs from other locations to Yangcheng Lake for a month and then claim that they are Yangcheng Lake crabs. Real Yangcheng Lake crabs are tagged with an official seal but these are still no guarantee that they are the real item. So, the only way to get real Yangcheng Lake crabs is from a reliable, trustworthy source.
The most common and preferred way to eat Hairy Crabs is simply to steam it for 15 to 20 minutes. Many people eat the crabs with soy sauce, vinegar and shredded ginger. Other people like to eat the crabs neat, just by itself with nothing added.
The crab meat is sweet and slightly nutty. Hairy Crabs aren't more meaty than other species and neither are it's claws large.
Every part of the crab is eaten except for the gills. The fats when cooked are bitter and savoury and has texture like cheese. The cooked roe is sweet and savoury. Both the fats and the roe are rather seductive in flavour and taste.
Hairy Crabs are available in Johor at Dragon-i Restaurant in City Square Mall, though I have not tried the crabs there before. (This post is written during my trip to Shanghai.)
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