My dad used to catch a lot of crab while I was growing up in the Philippines, and he often made this meal with it, which was my favorite. It has a sauce-like consistency and is rich in sea tastes like coconut milk, fish sauce, and shrimp paste, which are balanced out by the astringency of ginger and scallions. Take pleasure in having newly steamed white rice.
| Prep Time: | 25 mins |
| Cook Time: | 45 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 10 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 whole Dungeness crabs
- ½ cup garlic oil
- ½ cup sliced garlic
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 1 cup thinly sliced ginger rounds, with skin on
- ½ cup bias-sliced scallions, whites only
- kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 (8.75 ounce) jar sauteed shrimp paste (such as Kamayan)
- 5 Thai chiles, sliced into thin rings
- 1 ½ quarts coconut milk
- ½ quart water, or more as needed
- 1 bunch fresh spinach
- ½ cup bias-sliced scallions, greens only
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop crabs in and cook until shells turn bright red, 8 to 10 minutes. Plunge crabs into ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain and set aside.
- Heat a large wok over medium-high heat and add garlic oil. Stir in garlic and cook until lightly toasted and golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add onion and ginger and saute until onion is translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Add scallion whites. Season with a few pinches of salt and pepper.
- Add fish sauce and let infuse for 1 minute. Stir in shrimp paste and toast for about 3 minutes. Add Thai chiles; saute for 1 minute more. Pour in coconut milk and water. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until sauce is thickened, about 10 minutes, adding more water if too dry.
- Meanwhile, break open the crab. Add to the sauce along with any accumulated juices. Simmer until flavors meld, 8 to 10 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper. Toss in spinach and let wilt. Garnish with scallion greens.
- Crab can be substituted with kabocha squash, long beans, and shrimp.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 566 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 19 g |
| Cholesterol | 23 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Protein | 13 g |
| Saturated Fat | 35 g |
| Sodium | 309 mg |
| Sugars | 2 g |
| Fat | 52 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Amazing, thank you so much for sharing!
This is it.
Full disclosure: I didn’t make this but I ate it at a Filipino kamayan – a traditional feast where your only utensils are your hands. It was one of the most delicious seafood dishes I’ve ever had — so fresh and fragrant from the coconut milk and ginger. Be sure to serve it with steamed rice to capture all that delectable sauce.