Thanks to two friends, I got to try Shanghai Hairy Crabs for the first time. Homemade no less! So, yes, this was my first time sucking (out the meat) and licking (the gold out of) hairy crabs. You may stop laughing now…I’m talking about food here!
Shanghai hairy crabs (technically the Chinese mitten crab) are a delicacy during the autumn months. When I was in Hong Kong in November, that happened to be toward the end of the season and when I was asked if I’d like to have hairy crab for dinner at a fren’s house, I said, “you betcha!”
Food porn. Bound. Restrained. Steamy. I’m stopping now.
Now, mind you, prior to this, I’ve never had hairy crabs before. I was told there’d be a lot of licking and sucking involved. And they were right! There’s a ritual in cracking open one of these hairy buggers. First, you twist off the legs and use your chopstick to poke the meat through, like typical crab legs. Then you take the crab body, flip open the nose (like a coke can tab), peel the shell off and lick and suck your way through. If you’re good at dismembering your hairy crab, the shell should come off in one piece, forming a bowl. The gold part (the roe) lining the inside is especially decadent. I think I fulfilled my cholesterol quota for the rest of the year devouring that golden stuff. Don’t eat the intestines, lungs or brains cuz it’s bad.
If you do it right, this is how it winds up looking like.
And it was so good, I had another! That’s right, I had two at once! So that would be like a threesome! WAHAHAHAH!
That’s enough innuendo for the year. But wait, the year begins anew next week! Talk about planning!
Musings of a Food and Travel Addict