Buttered crabs with oyster sauce
A friend asked me to cook for her as she had non-Filipino colleagues that came over to their house for dinner. Her guests requested for seafood and we thought that something that will sustain the appetite over chatters should be on the table. I am really glad that they enjoyed the hearty meal and I can just imagine when she told me that her guests devoured the buttered crabs with oyster sauce ala kamayan (eating with hands). This post is in response to her and her guests’ request for the recipe… and yes, for those who might need and want to try this. Although there is a lot of recipes available out there, this was a result of one of my kitchen experiments while in the UAE which was based on craving (and a little imagination on what might work when you combine estimates of ingredients). Fortunately, it never fails to satisfy the diners.
You will need:
1 to 2 kilos (preferably female) crabs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 onion, minced
1 garlic, minced
1 1/3 cups oyster sauce
Put a little opening at the mid section (back) of the crabs. This is to make the broth tastier and to mix crab fats with the sauce later. Cook crabs with water for 10 minutes. Set aside. In a separate boiling pot, melt butter and saute garlic and onion (and chili, if you prefer). Add oyster sauce. Transfer the boiled crabs including the broth from the other pot. Cook until the crabs legs are orange enough. Cool for 5 minutes. Transfer crabs to a dish and evenly distribute the sauce. Serve with steamed rice. (I hope you have a crab leg cracker/scissor. You will be surprised by the yummier pieces inside the legs).
This is one of those dishes wherein you can pig out already with the smell (and sauce) alone. Seriously.
the picture alone makes me crave for crabs. yummy. great job!
Thanks, Kayni. The first photo is making me hungry, too.
argh! so hungry right now
Not good for as a midnight snack (referring to the time stamp of your comment).
the recipe is simple but i’m sure the flavors are wonderful. paluto na lang sa iyo.
I like the simplicity of the recipe and the preparation itself.
im a SUPER fan of crabs (and shrimps) deadma sa cholesterol! woohoo!
Cholesterol huhuhu. But I like crabs and shrimps, too.
i love crabs (and shrimp)! i haven’t tried a dish yet with crabs and oyster sauce though. try ko nga eto!
Try it. Masarap.
Those look really good but they’re making me homesick!
You might want to prepare one.
Our favorite dishes will cure the homesickness.
hey thanks! ill show this to my mom (i dont cook!).
Haha, you can cook this, too!
yummy!
| guess we all like crabs (and shrimps?).
My mother cooks crabs this way. Or sometimes she adds sweet and sour sauce instead of oyster sauce. I agree the sauce alone together with rice can be qutie filling na! Yummy
I will try the sweet and sour sauce naman. Thanks for the idea.
wow jo! your blog is now turning into recipe blog! clap clap clap!
hmm i wonder now what aligue taste like after this. must be hello more cholesterol hehehe
Not by intention. But I think my blog is evolving and is only reflecting my varied interests.
oh i’m glad you kept your word sa twitter hehe. been watching out for the recipe. i will definitely do this next week =)
pa share din ng baked fillet fish recipe mo ha? para may variation nman ang niluluto ko.
Thank you so much, wits the super woman!
Sure, I will share the baked fish fillet recipe.
whoa! i’m thinking of aligue–and eating these crabs! mouth-watering.
i cook crabs in butter, garlic, and ginger and a bit spicy. papawisan ka.:p
Sounds yummy, too. I will try your version of buttered crabs (with ginger and chili).
Ang galing mo naman magluto Jo. As they say in tagalog, katakam-takam. I’m sure, amoy pa lang , ulam na!
I hope I’ll be able to cook this one someday. Am not that adventurous kasi pagdating sa cooking.
waaaaaaaaah… it’s 6am here and you’re blog entry is making me hungry…. =
Looks good. I love cooking crabs, like ginataan or spicy chili crab. yummm. Will try this recipe someday
Good job Wits
Ginutom ako =)
It’s past midnight na, so had to fight back that crab craving for now =)
You’re a real super girl! Parang feeling ko kasi sa mga auditors, most cannot even cook for themselves sa sobrang busy. Pero ikaw you even cook for friends =)
ayun oh sarap naman dala ka nman dito
Mmmm! I love crabs ~ the only problem is i’m too tamad to eat them. wahahaha!
thanks for sharing
maybe I try this someday 
garlic + butter + seafoods (prawns/crabs) = DELICIOUS!
it’s exactly 1 hour post midnight as I view this post so my craving for this wonderful dish will be satisfied in my restful sleep!
sarap talaga ng crabs kahit saan naman atang bansa. but what i want to try in the future are the spider crabs of japan.
nabasa ko yung ingredients na famale crabs, naalala ko tuloy one morning sa ukg na nag uunahan sila to identify baklang crab. sabi ko na nga ba may passion ka sa cooking kahit hindi ka nag-aral.
believe me. anything with oyster sauce works for me.
Thanks for the recipe! Will try this one. It looks really yummy!
wow! makatulo laway naman yang pictures mo. picture palang ulam na hehehe.
i love crabs eh
Wow, that looks really tempting. If only I can have some right now.
great dish! simple, easy, and quick to prepare! thanks for the recipe