How to make typhoon shelter soft shell crab – a new twist on a Hong Kong favourite
- From its humble beginnings, the dish is now a speciality at several Hong Kong restaurants
- This version may help you avoid the mess of the original dish, but not the garlic breath
I love typhoon shelter crab – a dish that was “invented” in Hong Kong. The name is derived from the fact it used to be served on the small fishing boats that took refuge in the typhoon shelters, but it’s now the speciality of many restaurants along Jaffe Road, in Wan Chai.
The original dish is something to be eaten with good friends, who don’t mind the messy, hands-on work of extracting the meat from the shell, and are fine with having garlic breath for a few hours. This version, using soft shell crabs, is a compromise – you get all the crabby flavour without having to deal with the shells. You’ll still have garlic breath, though.
Typhoon shelter soft shell crabs
You can use pre-peeled garlic for this dish, but it should be in whole cloves. Don’t use the crushed garlic sold in jars because it’s puréed too finely and often has a metallic taste.
If you can’t find soft shell crabs (in Hong Kong, they are usually sold frozen), then you can go back to the original recipe and use a large fresh crab (mud crabs are good). But if you want an easier-to-eat dish, buy large fresh whole shrimp or prawns, and split them open by cutting along the back shell, to expose the flesh.
The fried garlic topping is delicious when spooned over plain rice or plain congee, to temper the flavour.
200-250 grams garlic cloves, peeled
