CURACHA

Curacha is a red frog crab only found here

 in Zamboanga, it is a crossbreed characteristic

 of a large sea crab and a big spiny lobster

 Curacha food from Zamboanga is the best food

 usually people like to eat. It has a big difference

 between other crabs. Most crabs generally

 found their meat at the claws part but curacha

 meat is found in its body. Meaning, you don���t

 need to use fork or spoon just to break those

 claws to eat some meat since curacha has it

 in the bodies and you can simply open it using

 your hands. Try curacha and enjoy the taste it has.

 Curacha also known as spanner crab or

red frog crab is a local Chavacano name

 given to a sea crab species found in

 Zamboanga Philippines. It is a highbred

 crustacean, with crossbreed characteristics

 of a large sea crab and a big spiny lobster.  

I brought some back to Cebu this morning

and had one boiled in plain water until it

 ended up as my lunch. Always cook it

minimally to preserve its original taste.

Others do add some lemongrass and about

3-5 cups of coconut milk while boiling.

 I think the Alavar recipe has some ginger,

grated coconut meat and chillis.

Curacha is unique that a lot of white

 meat is concentrated in the body of the

crab, and it has very thin claws��� For now,

it definitely ranks third in my crab line-up

 behind alimango and alimasag��� but I have

 to experiment with it further. Also, at PHP240

 a kilo when all other crabs were in the

 PHP300ish range, this might turn out to be

 a cheaper alternative source of crabmeat for

 crabcakes and crab soups���

Curacha is a type of crab found exclusively

 off the coast of Zamboanga, in the southern

 Philippines. They are bright red in color and

 contain a large amount of meat. The most

 popular way of preparing curacha is to simply

steam or boil it, enjoying the meat with very

 few spices to detract from the flavor, although

 small amounts of garlic or onions are usually

 added during cooking.

 The crabs are generally less expensive

 than other crabs native to the region,

and are served in many restaurants throughout

 the country, although they are only available

 year-round in Zamboanga. The meat of

 the crab is very resilient and has a flavor

slightly stronger than that of more traditional

 crab meats.  

The curacha is a relatively big creature

 with a large, wide body that tapers in the

back to a series of segments that has the

same appearance as a shortened lobster

 tail. The claws are large but very flat and

 contain little meat. The crab is bright red in

 color with a white underbelly and pink tones

 around the sides; it does not change color

while it is cooking. There are species similar

to the curacha known as the red crab and frog

 crab that can be found all along the Western

 Pacific Rim, although they are only relatives

and have some differences. The name curacha

 is a local word that means "cockroach," most

 likely because the legs of the crab have a

 similar appearance to the legs of a cockroach,

 with small hair-like structures jutting from them.

A classic preparation for the curacha is

 to boil it in a sauce that has had some

 light flavors added to it. This can include

 garlic, ginger, salt and pepper. It is suggested

 that, for this recipe, the crab be left intact

rather than opened or split apart.

Another recipe involves steaming the crab,

sometimes along with onions or scallions

and garlic. In this method, the crab can be

left whole or cut into quarters, because they

 are very large crabs with a lot of bulk in the

body, which contains most of the meat. The

 legs and claws, which do not contain much

meat, can be removed and cooked separately.

It also is possible to cook curacha by halving

 or quartering the crab and then frying it with chilies,

 oil, garlic and ginger. The finished crab can then

 be served with a reduced, spiced coconut milk

sauce poured over top with rice on the side.

The meat has a strong enough flavor that it

can tolerate a good level of heat and a thick,

 rich sauce with a lot of fat in it.

Ingredients:

1 kilo curacha or crab
1/2 kilo grated coconut
1/2 kilo Alavar sauce
1 bulb of garlic
1/2 thumb of ginger
4 pinches of salt
4 pinches of monosodium glutamate, MSG
1 1/2 cup of water

How to Cook:

Wash curacha or crab. Place in cooking

 pot. Set aside.
Place grated coconut in a mixing bowl.

 Pour water and mix. With your hands, squeeze all milk from the coconut. Set aside.
Mince garlic and ginger into tiny pieces. Set aside.
Sprinkle the salt, MSG, garlic and ginger

 all over the curacha or crab.
Pour coconut milk all over the curacha or crab.
Turn stove on high heat until the coconut

 milk comes to a boil. Then drop the alavar

 sauce into the pot and lower the knob to medium heat.
When the coconut oil starts to surface

(happens after around 20-30 minutes),

 turn off the stove.