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.
0 thoughts on “Buttered crabs with oyster sauce”
kayni
the picture alone makes me crave for crabs. yummy. great job!
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witsandnuts
Thanks, Kayni. The first photo is making me hungry, too.
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Kate
argh! so hungry right now 😀
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witsandnuts
Not good for as a midnight snack (referring to the time stamp of your comment). 😉
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Photo Cache
the recipe is simple but i’m sure the flavors are wonderful. paluto na lang sa iyo.
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witsandnuts
I like the simplicity of the recipe and the preparation itself.
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chyng
im a SUPER fan of crabs (and shrimps) deadma sa cholesterol! woohoo!
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witsandnuts
Cholesterol huhuhu. But I like crabs and shrimps, too.
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kg
i love crabs (and shrimp)! i haven’t tried a dish yet with crabs and oyster sauce though. try ko nga eto! 🙂
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witsandnuts
Try it. Masarap. 🙂
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CandyQ
Those look really good but they’re making me homesick!
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witsandnuts
You might want to prepare one. 🙂 Our favorite dishes will cure the homesickness.
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mordsith
hey thanks! ill show this to my mom (i dont cook!). 🙂
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witsandnuts
Haha, you can cook this, too!
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angeli
yummy! 🙂
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witsandnuts
| guess we all like crabs (and shrimps?). 😀
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Daphne
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 🙂
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witsandnuts
I will try the sweet and sour sauce naman. Thanks for the idea. 🙂
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dyanie
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
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witsandnuts
Not by intention. But I think my blog is evolving and is only reflecting my varied interests. 😀
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Kero
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!
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witsandnuts
Sure, I will share the baked fish fillet recipe. 🙂
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luna miranda
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
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witsandnuts
Sounds yummy, too. I will try your version of buttered crabs (with ginger and chili).
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Lene
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.
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cza
waaaaaaaaah… it’s 6am here and you’re blog entry is making me hungry…. =
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Jeanny
Looks good. I love cooking crabs, like ginataan or spicy chili crab. yummm. Will try this recipe someday 🙂
Good job Wits
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Gremliness
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 =)
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upto6only
ayun oh sarap naman dala ka nman dito
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caryn
Mmmm! I love crabs ~ the only problem is i’m too tamad to eat them. wahahaha!
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Amelia
thanks for sharing 🙂 maybe I try this someday 🙂
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docgelo
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! 😦
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dong ho
sarap talaga ng crabs kahit saan naman atang bansa. but what i want to try in the future are the spider crabs of japan.
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redlan
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.
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Fine Life Folk
believe me. anything with oyster sauce works for me.
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Josiet
Thanks for the recipe! Will try this one. It looks really yummy!
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eds
wow! makatulo laway naman yang pictures mo. picture palang ulam na hehehe.
i love crabs eh
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Rach (Heart of Rachel)
Wow, that looks really tempting. If only I can have some right now.
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zabby
great dish! simple, easy, and quick to prepare! thanks for the recipe 🙂
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KuNika
Just tried it…so easy, simple, but taste great…thanks 🙂
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