Stuffed Crabs-Filipino

(Tortang Alimasag, Crab Omelet or Crab Relleno)

This is a classic Filipino dish. It is not in any way similar to the American stuffed crabs that have breading and seasoned with herbs and spices that I never liked because the herbs and spices overpower the flavor of the crabs. In fact this is almost pure crab meats.

This dish is usually made after we had crabs for lunch or dinner using the leftover crabs. To cook the crabs, we usually steam them or boil in just a little water in a large container with lid. The crabs are arranged in the cooking pot (but not without much struggle with them) then generously sprinkled with salt, covered with the lid and the fire turned on, making sure the crabs do not crawl out and escape. They are done when they turn red.

After shelling the crab, the carapace is cleaned and saved to stuff the crabmeat back in, then covered with beaten egg and fried like relleno.

Ingredients:

As many shelled crabs as you need to serve. Usually one large crab per serving.
1 Roma tomato, diced
½ medium size onion, minced
1 large clove garlic (or two small), crushed and minced
Salt and pepper
2 or more eggs, beaten
Oil for frying

Shell the crabs and set aside. Be meticulous in making sure they are shell free. Save the carapace and wash the inside well then dry.

In a skillet on medium heat, saute the vegetables in 1 TBS. oil. First the garlic until fragrant then follow with the onions. Saute until the onions are soft and transparent then follow with the tomatoes, crushing and stirring until cooked. Drop in the crab meat and saute for a minute. Add about ¼ tsp salt and ¼ tsp. black pepper or to your taste. Some people use patis instead of salt. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks. In a bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form (like making a chiffon cake) then add the egg yolks and beat some more until they are mixed well. Add a dash of salt to the eggs and mix well.

When the crab mixture has cooled a little, spoon the crabmeat in the shells dividing evenly, packing in the corners too. Heat 1 inch deep oil in a skillet or wok and heat to about 275°F (medium-low).

Spoon a little of the egg in with the crabmeat in the shell poking it to mix with the meat then dip the whole thing in the egg to cover and carefully drop it shell down in the heated oil. Fry for a minute or two then when it looks like the egg has set a little, flip over and fry some more but maintain medium-low heat because you don’t want the eggs to get burned. Do them in batches. Notice that I had to break off the points of the carapace to fit in the wok to get it in the oil. I used a wok so I don’t have to use too much oil. But you can fry more than one at a time if you used a wide skillet. It’s up to you.

This can also be done without the shells. You can buy the shelled crab meat and cook it the same way. When ready to fry, mix the cooked and cooled crabmeat in the beaten eggs. Fry them like omelets or you can fill roasted eggplants with the crabmeat and make eggplant omelets like pictured below:

(Click on the picture to take you to the recipe)