Fresh Blue Crabs and Mantis Shrimp

The city that we live in is surrounded by water and fresh seafood is always available from the local market. I always come with my wife every time she goes to the market. I love seeing different types of seafood on sale. There are always different types of fresh fish, oysters, mussels, shrimp, crabs and sometimes I see stingray.

Since were are still on lockdown going out to the market is very limited. Fortunately, some vendors walk the streets to sell fresh seafood.

My wife heard the call from the vendor outside and immediately rushed to see the catch of the day. She was offered by the vendor to buy this whole lot for 250 pesos which are around $5.21 USD. I think it is a good deal don't you think?

Blue crabs are very common in our area. Another type of crab is called the "Alimango (Mud Crab)" it is more expensive than the blue crab but a lot meatier.

One of the popular crab dishes here is called the "Ginataang Alimasag (Crab cooked in coconut milk)". My wife's recipe is so good that it will make you eat more. Although she will not be cooking it today, maybe in the future we will share the recipe with you.

The mantis shrimp is also very common here in the Philippines. Locally we call them "Samba", in other regions they call them Palatak and Alupihang Dagat. It is also called the Poor Man's Lobster and I do see some similarities with the taste of lobster.

If it is almost lunchtime and you have no time to cook. We will show you the fastest way to prepare the blue crabs and the mantis shrimp.

First, you would need to wash them thoroughly. Making sure there are no foreign materials before cooking. Sometimes there are small parts of the fishing net left on the crabs, especially when they are freshly caught.

Next, sprinkle some salt and do not add water to the pot. This was taught by my aunt not to put water on them, she said that it shrinks the meat and removes flavor. The crabs already have a lot of water in them so basically, they would cook on their own even without adding water.

Turn up the flame to high and cover the pot. Normally it would cook within 10-15 minutes and you would know if the crabs have changed color to orange.

So here we are and ready for lunch in the span of 15 minutes.

The mantis shrimp is a bit difficult to open if you do not know what you are doing. There are small sharp spikes on the carapace and could easily injure your finger. I have been eating this for years now but there are times I still get pricked on the finger.

The Blue Crab and the Mantis shrimp are best served with hot steaming rice. Also, the best dipping sauce is spicy vinegar. Here in our country we always have rice during meals because it is our main food staple.

Opening a crab is easy. You just need to peel off the shell and break the body in half. Once you have done that, you can easily remove the meat from the body. As for the claws you just need to smash it with a spoon so you could pull the meat out.

My favorite part of the crab is the roe. It is very delicious but should be eaten moderately as it is high in cholesterol. This one we just opened does not have that bright orange roe, maybe I would be lucky with the rest of the crabs.

As for the mantis shrimp, one way of opening them is pressing the sides of the bottom part. This way you could easily peel off the carapace. Another way is using scissors and cutting the sides that would also allow you to peel off the top.

The meat is firm that indicates that it is perfectly cooked. If it is overcooked the meat becomes too soft and would just crumble once you open it up.

If you have never tasted mantis shrimp before you will be in for a treat. Dipping that meat in spicy vinegar will awaken your taste buds and gush with ocean goodness.

Thanks for joining me again for lunch today and I hope you enjoyed the menu.

See you again soon and happy eating.

All photos are original and taken with

Lumix GX85 and Olympus 45mm f1.8