Yang Chen Lake crabs

These are the real Yang Chen Lake hairy crabs I had last week.. indeed a belated entry.. =P The identifications of authentic Yang Chen Lake hairy crabs are gold and spiky hair, a watermark on the shell, and a certification label.

Fresh and plump crabs that nobody can resist.

We are at the later part of hairy crab season, and traditionally we would have the female first and then the male ones for the latter part of the season.. according to my dad (don't quote me if I am wrong), reason being the female ones get fattening earlier in the season, and the male ones would get fat until the weather becoming cooler... Now it's the best time to enjoy the male.

I prefer the male over the female because of the translucent scrumptious fat. It doesn't have the tangy flavor as the female, but the glutinous fat from the male crabs is like a seafood version of lard.. with a few drops of brown sugar and vinegar that's the best combination ever existed.