Crabs In Coconut Milk

Mom and I went to the market and found some crabs being sold. I seldom cook this because most of the time you need to use your hands to eat this and I’m not into using my hands to get that crab meat but I love how it tastes so most of the time I only eat the vegetables. Lol. My mom decided to buy it because it’s my friend’s favourite and her’s too! My friend and Mom really jives on this food.

Here is another Filipino dish I would like to share with you. There are a lot of ways to cook this. But this is how I learned it from my Mom and our helper who’s from the southern part of the Philippines known for cooking basically any food with coconut milk and tons of chilis! Lol.

Ingredients:

1kg. blue crabs
1 medium grated coconut
1 cup squash (cubed)
2 cups kangkong leaves (water spinach)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
1 large onion (chopped)
1/4 cup ginger (thinly sliced)
3 finger chilis
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons cooking oil

Method:

Prepare the coconut milk

• There are two kinds of coconut milk that you need to extract from the grated coconut. (1) “Kakang Gata” or the first extraction of coconut milk. It’s thicker, creamier and most pure coconut milk. (2) “Gata” which is the second extraction of coconut milk, less creamier or thicker than the first extraction. 
• Pour 1/2 cup of warm water into the grated coconut and let it settle for 10 to 15 minutes or until the water is tolerable to be touched.
• Using your two hands, grab a handful of grated coconut and try to squeeze out the coconut milk (Kakang Gata). Set aside. If you’re having difficulty giving a force into it, you can use a really clean thin kitchen towel, tie it up and squeeze the cloth.
• Return the squeezed coconut into the bowl and pour in another 1/2 cup water (it doesn’t have to be warm) and again squeeze out the coconut milk on another container. This is the second extraction (Gata). Set aside.
• Proceed to cooking the crabs!

1. Rinse the crabs thoroughly.
2. In a large wok, heat 2 tablespoons cooking oil. Add garlic, onion and ginger. Sauté for 1 minute.
3. Add the crabs. Add in the second extracted coconut milk (Gata). Cover and let it simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes.
4. Add in the squash. Cover and let it cook for 5 minutes or until squash is cooked.
5. Add fish sauce and ground pepper according to taste.
6. Place the kangkong and chilis on top and pour in the first extracted coconut milk (kakang gata). Cover and let it simmer for another 5 minutes.
7. Serve it with steamed rice.

Enjoy!