Delicate and delightful, crab meat has undergone an edgy makeover in modish menus, giving a rather ritzy spin to the shell special. From grilled blue crab, soft shelled crab bhajia to the Varli crab thali—the choices are mindboggling.
“While eating a crab can be fun, the most challenging aspect is cleaning it. The shell needs to be carefully separated from the meat,” says brand chef Momin Faqi, of restobar Kode, Mumbai. As the meat is soft and delicate, to retain the flavours, chefs need to make the use of the cooking methods that are compliant with the complexion of the crab dish. Roasting or grilling crab is usually the favoured way to go.
While there are a multitude of varieties available in the shell meat, blue crab is a hot pick for chefs across the world. Says chef Sahil Singh, of pan Asian eatery, Tygr, Mumbai, “I prefer the king crab, or the blue crab due to the sweetness of the meat as they come from the coldest waters. You can play around with many flavours when using this meat. For example, I have come up with Phetchaburi Styled Grilled Crab with Thai herbs and Ginger Chilli Sauce which is a piquant makeover of the sweet meat.”
Of course, what adds to the appeal of the seafood special is its low fat and folate-rich content. Says chef Vikramjit Roy of The Wine Rack, “The blue swimmer crab, green and black mud crabs, soft shell crabs, and the Alaskan king crab leg are fabulous varieties, owing to their rich umami, sweet and luscious taste.” Crab meat tends to pirouette as a canvas, absorbing a matrix of flavours. This makes it a popular pick in the kitchen. “I prefer to stir-fry or bake it to bring in multiple layers of flavours. One of the best ways to cook this soft shell variant for me is tempura-fried. It imparts a great texture of crispiness on the outside, with soft juicy meat oozing with amazing umami once your fork it in,” he adds.
Equally vital is the accompaniment that sashays in with the star element of the crab preparation. “Pick a sharper preparation on the spice index, like chilli garlic crab, and serve it with mild basil fried rice,” Roy explains. He also suggests tossing in Asian ingredients in a wok to enhance flavours.
For most chefs, the idea is to have different elements play out a flavour medley in a crab preparation. Roy suggests experimenting with citrus swish in lime, or even yuzu. “Curry leaf lends an Indian spin. Tobanjan or the Japanese fermented chilli rocks the palate. A sense of induced smokiness through the use of charcoal or wood while cooking gives the dish another dimension. You could also work in egg emulsions, or Bengali kasundi with crab meat for a superb show on the plate,” he says. Roy has perfected the soft shell crab bhajia with curry leaf emulsion and a herb crumble of toasted garlic, golden onion, basil, coriander and dehydrated potato flakes at his restaurant.
Another popular variation is the black mud crab cake that is a mix of meat and tobiko (flying fish roe). For a gourmet spin, chillies and home-made mustard hollandaise on buckwheat toast with pickled chilli gel is served as the Asian Style Crab Benedict at Roy’s Tygr. Whatever your pick in the slick chic meat, make sure you tuck in the crab this season for that winsome punch to protein to combat the heat.