Eight-Legged Treats

I had crabs, and I really enjoyed it. But only for a little while. Last night. Like, just for a meal.

Turns out the local T&T / 99 Ranch had fresh (live) dungeness crabs going for $2.58/lb, so we braved the line of eager Asians. Well, it was really more than a line, as all such groupings of Asian grocery shoppers are -- it was more like a swarm, circling around the two tanks chock full of crabs.

Anyway, some hours after the crabs were introduced to our sink, they were made intimate with our rice-cooker-turned-steamer. And then paired up with a soy sauce concoction that brought out their natural sweetness.

I like crab, but I sure hate trying to get into it. It's nature's way of making you work for your food: having to fight your way through the tough spiney vault to get at the delicious morsels that await you inside. There's pretty much no way to do it without getting your hands all mucked up with calcium-y shells and crab juice.

And somehow, most elegant Chinese meals will include a crab dish. Worse yet, the crab is then doused in some kind of butter sauce or something else -- more stuff to get all over your hands. So there you are, perhaps at a wedding banquet, all decked out in your suit / tux / gown / dress, and your hands are all messy as if you had just performed surgery. Who thought of that? (I figure either a moron or a practical joker, but then it got out of hand when it caught on.)

Anyway, just thought I'd share.