How to tell if hairy crabs have enough fat?

We all know that hairy crabs are delicious, tender and tasty, rich in protein, minerals and dietary fiber, etc. Eating them in moderation is good for the body, and many people like to eat hairy crabs. Some hairy crabs have more meat, while others have less. So how do you tell whether hairy crabs are fat or thin? Let's take a closer look!

How to distinguish fat and thin hairy crabs

To determine whether the crab is plump, you can observe the gaps on the crab body and the shape of the crab legs:

Look at the butt

The deliciousness of crabs is mostly reflected in the richness of crab roe and crab paste, as well as the fullness of crab meat.

Some crabs look big on the outside, but when you open their shells, the crab roe inside is sparse or even cannot be formed into a shape. Such crabs are thin crabs and taste inferior.

A characteristic of a plump crab with yellow roe is that there is abundant yellow roe in the crab body, which pushes the crab roe up high.

Therefore, we can observe the gap on the crab's buttocks, which is the position between the crab's abdomen and back shell. The wider this gap is, the higher the crab's roe pushes the crab shell, which means the fatter and fuller the crab is.

Look at the crab legs

We can also observe the crab's legs, which can reveal the fullness of the crab's meat.

Gently pinch the crab legs to feel the texture. If the crab legs feel very elastic and plump, it means that the crab meat is plump and well-developed. If they feel hollow and deflated, or the crab legs are soft, it means that the crab is thin and weak.

How to tell if hairy crabs are fresh

To determine whether the crab is fresh, you can touch the crab's eyes and observe its reaction:

For aquatic products, their freshness is directly linked to their taste. The fresher the crab, the lighter its fishy smell and the firmer and more elastic its meat.

For crabs, there is a simple way, which is to look at its eyes.

Gently touch the crab's eyes with your fingers. The crab, which is fresh out of water and full of energy, will react quickly with its eyes moving and shrinking.

If the crab is listless, its eyes will not be sensitive, its reactions will be very slow, or even its eyes will not move. Such a crab is not fresh.

How to distinguish male and female hairy crabs

It is very easy to distinguish male and female hairy crabs, just look at the crab's navel.

Get a hairy crab, turn it over to expose its white belly, and then observe it.

The pointed ones are called "pointed navels", which are pointed at the top and similar to a triangle. This is the male crab:

The belly is a whole round piece, called "tuan navel", which means it is a female crab:

In addition, male crabs are generally larger than female crabs, and their claws are strong and hairy, making them look very powerful:

The claws of female crabs are relatively small and have less hair:

After distinguishing between male and female crabs, there are some things to pay attention to when eating them.

The essence of male crabs lies in their crab roe, which is translucent, crystal clear, sticky and has a strong aroma:

The most delicious part of the female crab is the orange-red crab roe. The large chunks of crab roe are like agar-agar jade, fresh and delicious:

When eating crabs, you need to break off the crab navel and pull out the black crab intestines inside, which are the inedible part.

For male crabs, just pry open the crab navel, pull out the crab intestines and throw them away.

For a female crab with full crab roe, there are still hidden secrets in its navel. After breaking open the crab navel, you can see that there is still a lot of crab roe inside.

After taking out the crab intestines, don’t waste the crab roe in the navel of the female crab, it tastes just as delicious!