23 March 2005

Giddy Over Oregon Crab...| Recipe : Fresh Mango - Crab Spring Rolls

Female Dungeness Crabs have larger "chests" than their male counterparts...hmmm.


photo Male & Female Crab

The 2 Above photos are from GREG JOHNSTON ,SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER reporters Article "Puget Sound's Dungeness bounty is fun to catch and great to eat ", a great article on The Puget sound's dungeness crab, covers many facets.

Here is one of the 2 crabs caught by my husband & friends. Only male crabs are eaten, and they must measure over 6 inches across the shell to be regulation. The crab cage was dropped off of a bridge in Seaside, Oregon - with a rope and buoy attached. You can use basically anything to bait your trap - mink, smelly fish, chicken meat etc. When the boys checked the trap they were very excited.
Ready for a boil

My husband ran back to the house , huffing & puffing, out of breath and exclaimed "There are 2 crabs in there -BIG ONES!" He was like a little kid who had just discovered Pokemon. The locals were very intrigued with the catch. They were asking all kinds of questions - the most frequent one was "Wha'd you use to bait 'em?" and their stern looks were not of approval until the crabs were carefully looked over and measured. After the investigation, the female was put back and the male crab was plopped into a bucket with water, to be carried home.

Crab caught in Seaside, OR.

Now this crab was a real pain in the ass. He was a fighter. You cannot fully understand a crabs' strength, until you are wrestling him into a pot of boiling water. His claws are furled in full battle glory, taking swift pinches at every chance. I was lucky to capture this photo of my husband potting him, because when you are handling a dungeness crab - instinct tells you let go immediately!

Yum, fresh crab!

The crab is cooked until the shell turns from it's natural and alive color of purplish-brown, to a red orange cooked color. Then the crabs sternum[chest] is cracked open and the organs are thrown away, leaving the collection of meat.

Here is a great recipe for crab meat:

Fresh Mango - Crab Spring rolls

  • 2 Tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 Tbsp rice wine or dry sherry
  • 3 1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger, divided
  • 1 Tbsp chopped cilantro leaves
  • 1/2 lb. Cooked crab meat, broken into chunks{you can use lobster also]
  • 2 Tbsp canola oil
  • 1 Tbsp loose green tea, such as Gunpowder green tea
  • 2 small mangos,peeled,seeded and diced
  • 12 , 8 inch round dried rice paper wrappers

Combine fish sauce, wine/sherry,1 1/2 tsp ginger, and cilantro leaves in a medium bowl. Add crab/lobster; toss to coat. Cover and marinate in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Heat oil in a large cooking pan over medium heat, swirl oil to coat pan. Add green tea and saute until fragrant [ 30 seconds]. Add 2 Tbsp of ginger and saute another 30 seconds. Add crab/lobster mixture; stir and toss until it heats through, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Let cool, then mix in mango.

Fill medium bowl with warm water. Dip one of the wrappers in the water for 15 seconds, or until softened. Carefully transfer it to a clean and dry work space. Arrange 2-3 Tbsp of the filling in an even horizontal mounds just below the center of the wrapper. Roll up the rice paper to form a tight cylinder, folding the sides about half way.

Cover finished rolls wit a damp cloth to prevent drying. Serve with dipping sauce.

Sweet & Sour Chili Sauce

  • 1 stalk lemon grass
  • 1 fresh red chili, seeded and minced
  • 2 tsp brown sugar
  • 3 Tbsp fish sauce
  • 1/4 cup fresh lime juice

Remove tough outer layers and green parts of the lemon grass. Mince tender base stalk. Combine ingredients in a bowl. Cover & chill. Keeps for 3 days.

14  Comments
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14 comments

Anonymous
11:22 PM, August 27, 2008 Reply  

That's a great story about how your husband caught the crabs, and what cool pictures. I haven't eaten crabs in a couple of years since I went on vacation in South America. I've also never eaten anything I caught, including fish. I will try out the recipe as soon as possible. Although I usually like crabs with a salty flavor, maybe with Garlic and hot spices too. Crabs with Mango sounds delicious however, although I wonder what sweet-flavored crabs would taste like.

Anonymous
12:38 PM, August 28, 2008 Reply  

What a gorgeous combination of ingredients! It's great that your family is fishing responsibly and not taking the females.

Anonymous
11:18 PM, September 11, 2008 Reply  

Wow, what a dish! Thanks for this one, my wife says thumbs up, we must try it!

7:47 AM, September 29, 2009 Reply  

yummy i had lobster last night and now i'm craving a new style of crab for this weekend!.

5:10 PM, January 13, 2010 Reply  

Pretty interesting how in every other species other than human the female species is the bigger and more dominant figure. Consider lions like crabs the females are the larger more dominant figures. Pretty cool though, I love crab on any menu... thanks for making me hungry!

2:36 PM, January 25, 2010 Reply  

I have to agree, the female crabs are so much larger.

3:10 PM, February 22, 2010 Reply  

It's amazing how many differant ways you can make a spring roll. Last week I tried a macaroni and cheese spring roll with cheese dipping sauce on the side. I'm a huge crab lover, my mom's crab cakes are delicious, i can make em like she does. This sounds too good to pass up, hopefully i won't brun the ktchen down

4:57 AM, April 13, 2010 Reply  

I have been wondering about how to do Sweet & Sour Chilli Sauce. I will try this recipe and see if it has the taste I am looking for. Thanks.

4:44 AM, June 06, 2010 Reply  

Wow, Wow wow. Thanks for this one, my wife says thumbs up, we must try it!

8:26 AM, July 15, 2010 Reply  

What an intreaguing recipe. Not seen green tea used much in cooking before and definitely worth a go. Love mango, love crab, love chilli sauce. Definitely need to try this one. Great story behind the recipe and nice to see that responsible fishing is still on some people's minds.

I tried this recipe today and have to say - how delicious! What a great idea, and it worked really well, thanks.

9:38 PM, November 06, 2010 Reply  

Ah I see the female crab has a bigger chest eh? That is something that you could believe easily. I plan on making this dish for my 2 year anniversary with my baby.

10:39 AM, January 18, 2011 Reply  

hey thanks for sharing

1:53 AM, June 06, 2012 Reply  

gorgeous combination...we must be carefull colesterol

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