Crabs are representatives of the order of decapod crustaceans. Its name is not accidentally associated with the number of limbs in these marine inhabitants. Crabs account for about 20% of all marine crustaceans that are caught, farmed and sold worldwide. In total, there are almost 7 thousand species of crabs. One of them is hairy. Hairy crab, as its official name sounds, has characteristic features, thanks to which it can be easily distinguished from other types of crustaceans. We will tell in more detail about this inhabitant of the sea element and how it can be prepared at home, in our article.
Hair crab: photo and description
A quadrangular hairy crab, or hairy, is a small, but strong and mobile arthropod animal with a body covered with hairs. In addition to the hairline, on its shell there are sharp large and small spikes. The color of the carapace (shell) is from red-violet to brown. The sizes of the hairs vary from 40-50 to 110 mm in width of the shell. Commercial individuals are usually considered crabs that have reached a size of 70-80 mm.
Volosatic lives on the coast of the Korean Peninsula, Primorye, on the islands of Hokkaido, the Kuril Islands, off South Sakhalin and Kamchatka. Commercial accumulations of crab are observed at a depth of 30 to 80 meters.
For residents of the Japanese Islands and Hokkaido, crab hair is an important source of income. The population of this animal is currently in a depressed state.
Taste of hairy crab
Hairy is not only unusual in appearance. It is also one of the most expensive crab species. It is appreciated not only by the most tender meat, but also by a very tasty and healthy liver located in the head. When analyzing an arthropod, this by-product can be determined by the characteristic light brown color.
The liver, like meat, is high in protein. It is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, sodium, iodine, etc. Crab meat is useful for various diseases. With it, you can quickly restore strength and achieve the desired recovery.
Hairy is a crab whose meat is much more tender than that of other species. Most often, arthropods are simply boiled in a pan, the edible part is separated from the inedible part and served in this form on a plate. However, the Japanese often bake hairy in cheese or served in hogo - Chinese dishes for making dumplings, in appearance resembling a samovar.
Hair crab: how to cook at home
For storage and transportation of freshly caught crab, the technology of cooked and frozen billet is used. This is exactly how hairy hair most often gets on store shelves. Cooked-and-frozen crab is simply placed in boiling water for 5 minutes before cutting. After that, it is laid out on a plate, legs are separated from the body and cut.
More correct is the following method of processing crab. The legs immediately come off the torso. Next, the carapace is tied up crosswise with a regular thread. This is done so that its contents do not fall out. The fact is that the carapace of the hairy is opened during cooking and a useful liver can simply leak out of it. Ideally, you need to cook the crab in sea water. But since it is problematic to do this at home, use ordinary water with salt. Cooked crab for 4 minutes in a wide saucepan. It is worth making sure that the water boils all the time. It is important not to digest the crab, otherwise it will become tough. The boiled hairworm is laid out in a bowl with ice. This will make it easier in the future to separate the meat from the shell.
To cut the crab using kitchen scissors or secateurs. So it will be much more convenient to cut claws and carapace. Additionally, you may need spoons of different sizes, chopsticks for sushi, etc. For starters, you need to remove the shell. In the part where the head of the crab is located, the largest amount of liver is concentrated. The removed shell can later be used as a plate, spreading liver and meat on it. By the way, in his body is also quite a lot.
After the shell is processed, you can proceed to the claws. To extract meat from them, you need to cut the claws along. Using a secateurs will make this very easy.
Crab Meat Salad with Soy Sauce
Most often, crab-hairy is eaten in a cooked form, for example, for beer. Less often, any dishes, salads are prepared from it.
Haircat is a crab that is widely distributed in Japanese cuisine. A delicious salad is made from his liver and meat. For this, the ingredients laid out in a shell are seasoned with soy sauce and wasabi, mixed and served. You can also bake crab meat in the shell. To do this, it is simply sprinkled with grated cheese and sent to the oven for several minutes until a crust forms.