The myriad ways to cook horseshoe crab

One horseshoe crab can become a variety of different delicacies. And it is also often eaten with crispy sesame rice crackers.

Winter in the northern province of Quang Ninh is the perfect time and place to try local specialties made with sam, also known as horseshoe crab, an unusual regional variety of seafood.

Its distinctive flavor is taken seriously and prepared with care by northern chefs. The crustacean has a spherical, flattened body, a hard shell, and a belly with 16 tiny legs. It swims slowly, and can also crawl on land.

Horseshoe crab is especially prevalent in the Quang Ninh town of Quang Yen and other river mouth enclaves. These areas are renowned for their sam production, and the local delicacy is one of the region’s major high-value commercial goods.

The crab’s breeding season is from October to February when the female’s meat becomes rich, making this the perfect time to eat sam.

Although horseshoe crabs have a hard shell, the soft meat can be used in a variety of recipes after the shell has been removed.

An adult female horseshoe crab weighs 1.5 to 3 kilograms, and males are smaller at about 1-2 kilograms. Depending on size, horseshoe crabs are sold in pairs for anywhere between VND800,000 and 1.5 million (US$33.94 – 65.63) each.

A skilled chef is needed to prepare horseshoe crab because it is not a simple process. Almost every part of the crab can be used to make a different dish except for its hard shell. In Quang Ninh, a single sam can produce 7-8 different dishes depending on how creative the cook is.

Horseshoe crab meat is high in protein and is both lighter and more firm than regular crab meat. Eating sam helps cool the body, even when it’s stir-fried with spices. Garlic, chili, guava leaves and bitter bamboo shoots are all popular ingredients in a typical sam stir fry.

Chefs familiar with the crab can also use its meat to prepare a sweet and sour salad with scallions, Vietnamese cilantro, basil leaves, sesame, and crushed roasted peanuts.

Horseshoe crab eggs have a meaty, rich flavor and are frequently fried or grilled before being served with sesame rice crackers. The most popular recipes for stir-frying legs use sweet and sour fish sauce and/or sour tamarind coupled with hot chilies and lemongrass.

After removing the crab’s eggs, her egg sack is often filled with ground pork, onions, and crispy pork fat. And then there’s also horseshoe crab blood pudding, which is sweet and has a gorgeous blue hue.

A diverse array of different northern Vietnamese dishes made from horseshoe crab:

  

Tran Thu Nga, a 29-year-old Hanoi office worker from Quang Ninh, says she’s been a fan of horseshoe crab since she was a child.

“Every fall and winter when I visit my hometown of Quang Yen, I eat horseshoe crab. It’s addictive, and I often crave it. In the cold weather, eating a piece of spicy stir-fried horseshoe crab leg, or some sesame rice crackers with fragrant grilled crab eggs, gives me a unique feeling.”

Visitors to Quang Ninh can find these and other horseshoe crab specialties at the following locations: Tin Vuong restaurant in the town of Quang Yen; the horseshoe crab restaurant in the center of the Ha Long Market; Co Beo restaurant in Ha Tu Ward, Ha Long.