How often,
and easily, a dish disappears from our memory…
A short
conversation with a friend brought me back to a dark bottle of preserved crabs,
often displayed in old provision shops back in the late 60s.
Even
though it was a common side dish with the Teochew, I recall eating these
pickled crabs only once -- when I was very young. Back then in the 60s, the
majority of people earned meager salaries, and these little crabs would often
be the only dish in a meal, eaten with a bowl of plain porridge. They are
called Wa Kee.
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| Photo by Mark Ong |
Wa Kee
are tree-climbing crabs that inhabit the mangrove swamps. They are parasitic
and burrow in the mud, and feed on the propagules, or buds, of the mangrove
plant. The crabs emerge at dusk and are known to climb as high as 6 metres up a
tree to forage for food. To harvest them, a net is held at the base of the
tree, and a long stick used to scare or dislodge the crabs, which then drop
into the net.
The
Teochew pickle them in vinegar or soy sauce, while the Thai like the crabs
salted or deep-fried. Sadly, these crabs have become hard to find in Singapore.
Pickled
Crab
Wa Kee 300
g, live
Fresh
coriander 2
tbsp, minced
Seasoning
Sichuan
pepper ¼
tsp
Coriander
seeds ¼
tsp
Soy sauce 2 cups
Garlic 4 cloves
Chili
padi 2,
sliced thinly
Sugar 2 tsp
Method:
- Soak live crabs in clean water for 2 days,
changing water every 6 hours. Pat dry.
- Pan-fry Sichuan pepper and coriander seeds in
a dry pan until fragrant. Pour soy sauce and garlic. Simmer for 3 minutes
and remove from heat. Add chili padi and sugar; stir thoroughly until the
sugar dissolves. Let it rest to room temperature.
- Add crabs and submerge them.
- Keep it in a fridge for at least 24 hours.
- Add fresh coriander before serving.