Vietnamese sea crab blood pudding
Ca Mau province is considered as the kingdom of crabs in Vietnam. High-quality and delicious dishes from crab in Ca Mau are famous around the country. However, not many people know about Vietnamese sea crab blood pudding – one of specialty foods of Ca Mau province. It has been said that some fishermen were in a trouble on the sea, they had not any fresh water to drink so that they break the sea crab legs and drink the liquid inside the legs to survive. The liquid which has a little salty taste, special smell has become a food since then. The liquid is the blood of sea crab and the dish is similar to duck blood pudding, pork blood pudding, chicken blood pudding (Tiet canh vit, Tiet canh heo, Tiet canh ga) so that they call it Vietnamese sea crab blood pudding (Tiet canh cua).
To make Tiet canh cua, we need 2 alive sea crabs, one for getting the blood, one for getting meat. The sea crab used to get the blood must be over 800 grams weight. The bigger the crab is, the more the blood is. The more crab-roe the crab has, the richer nutrient the blood is.
Firstly, boil a crab with wine, get the flesh out of the shell, seasoning the flesh and mix with minced herbs. The win enhances the smell and taste of the crab flesh and makes the flesh more tender.
Secondly, tie 4 big legs of the crabs and use a sharp pair of scissors to cut quickly and strongly so that the crab blood drops into a bowl. Get the crab-roe and put into the bowl of crab blood. When the blood and crab-roe turn thickened and bloating, carefully use a spoon to get Tiet canh cua out. Top the dish with crushed toasted peanuts and culantra. Similar to other kinds of Tiet, Tiet canh cua is eaten with with herbs (heartleaf), green star-fruit, green banana, rice paper. Tiet canh cua pairs well with wine.
Tiet canh cua is a strang, healthy and delicious dish which is very famous in Ca Mau in Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. It is worth a try on your trip to the southernmost point of the country.
