So first, I just wanna share the not-so-secret secret to cooking delicious seafood dishes and that is to cook them fresh--Always! For crabs, when I say fresh, I mean they are still alive and moving until they are on fire or ready to be cooked. When buying crabs, keep in mind to always check EACH crab if they are still alive. Based from experience, if you just let the vendor choose the crabs, sometimes they will sneak in a weak or dead crab, even if you specified for fresh ones, specially if you are not buying from your suki. So just to be sure, check that there are no bad crabs because they can ruin the taste of the dish.
One more thing, if it's possible choose the female ones. They have more fat which are yummier and it just adds more flavor to the sauce. You can distinguish them by the wider flap on their bottom as compared to the thin and pointy one on males.
Another tip that I can share is to choose the ones which are changing their shells, whenever possible. Because of the process that they will undergo to change shells, crabs will eat more so that when they are immobilized, they will still have enough energy to survive. Hence, they have more fats. You can distinguish these crabs because of their soft shells. These soft-shelled crabs are very delicious.
So enough said, here is the recipe and hope you'll like it too! Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 kl fresh crab (alimango)
- 3 tbsp vinegar
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup white onions, sliced thinly
- 4 tomatoes, sliced into wedges
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- Salt, to taste
- 1 tbsp black pepper (coarsely ground)
- Thick coconut milk from 1 whole coconut (Unang piga or kakang gata)
- 1-2 cups water
STEPS:
1. Clean the crabs well then cut them into halves.
2. Put them in a casserole and add in the vinegar, pepper, salt (to taste), half of the garlic, half of the onions and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil over medium fire.
3. While waiting for it to boil, put the oil and saute the remaining garlic on a separate pan, until slightly brown. Add in the onions and wait until they are transparent and shiny. Put in the tomatoes and let it cook until they are soft enough then mash them onto the pan (to make the tomatoes into a sauce).
5. Add the sauted mixture into the casserole with the crabs, cover and let it simmer until they are cooked and almost done. Add in a little more water, as necessary, so it won't dry. Just enough though because we want our dish to have just enough sauce but not SOUP. :-)
6. Lastly, add in the thick coconut milk and wait for the sauce to boil and thicken then turn off the heat. And then we're done!
I'd like to put an emphasis on puting the coconut milk just before we are done because we don't want it to boil too long or it will start to release its oil (just like in LATIK) and that would release a flavor that we don't want on our dish.
What's great about this recipe is that it's easy to prepare and is not really expensive. If I am not mistaken, a kilo of crab (as of this writing) costs around 200 pesos. You may also add prawns, if you'd like.
This recipe is good for 5-7 persons.
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| Adobong Alimango sa Gata, our finished product. |
I'd like to hear from you! What do you guys think about my article? Your comments and suggestions are very much welcome! Or if you'd like to request a recipe, please let me know. Thanks!
TAGS: Between You and Cherry, Cherry Yutuc, Panlasang Pinoy, Pampanga, Lutong Kapampangan, Cooking Tips, Pampanga's Best, Recipe, Pampanga Cuisine, Cook from Pampanga, Philippines, Asian Food, Pinoy Food, Coconut Milk, Crab, Seafood, Gata, Lutong Bahay
