Phan Thiet crab hotpot with rich sweet taste of the ocean

One of the unique and rich seafood dishes with the sweet taste of the sea that tourists recently love to enjoy when visiting the coastal city of Phan Thiet (Binh Thuan) is Crab Hotpot.

(Phan Thiet crab hotpot; Photo: Nguyen Vu)

This dish is a variation of the seafood hotpot with the famous delicious and nutritious Phan Thiet crab. Although crab is a type of seafood that grows almost all year round and is quite popular in all coastal areas of Vietnam , but with the sea area having characteristics suitable for the crab's living environment such as salinity 25-31‰, water depth from 4 - 10m with a sandy bottom (or muddy sand) and many dead corals, Phan Thiet crab is considered the most delicious. In addition to processing simple crab dishes such as grilled, boiled, steamed, Phan Thiet people also vary more attractive dishes such as crab porridge, fried crab and especially crab hotpot with rich coastal flavor.

(The flavor blends between the sweet and aromatic broth and Phan Thiet green crab; Photo: Nguyen Vu)

There are many types of crabs such as moon crabs, red crabs, but the most delicious is still the green crab used for crab hotpot, which is always loved by many diners. According to chefs of some seafood restaurants in Phan Thiet, crab hotpot is an easy-to-cook coastal seafood dish. Choose delicious green crabs (lemon crabs), within reach, about 1kg, firm meat, clean, split in half, take out the crab's roe and fry it with garlic, add water and boil with green pepper, shallots, tomatoes, season with fish sauce, sugar, to taste (if cooking a lot, you can use pork or beef bones to cook the broth to make the hotpot broth sweet and clear).

(Photo: Nguyen Vu)

Mr. Nguyen Tan Trieu, chef of Dong Ho Quan (Hung Vuong Street, Phan Thiet), said: crabs for hot pot should be live crabs kept in a pond with an oxygen system to ensure the quality of the meat. Good crabs have bright colors, not dull, and feel heavy in the hand, which means they are firm. Female crabs have a lot of roe, while male crabs have a lot of meat and are firm. In particular, crabs are most delicious and firm at the beginning or end of the lunar month. You should not choose crabs that are too big or too small, medium-sized crabs, about the size of a hand, have more meat and are more delicious, making hot pot more flavorful.

(Tourists visiting Phan Thiet should remember to enjoy Crab Hotpot; Photo: Nguyen Vu)

When eating crab hotpot, put the pot of broth on the stove, wait for the broth to boil, add crab, then straw mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms, green vegetables such as water spinach, Malabar spinach, cabbage and eat with fresh rice noodles or egg noodles (yellow noodles) is the most suitable. The green, crispy water spinach stems are submerged in a bowl of sweet, fatty yellow broth from spices and crab roe along with the "taste-stimulating" red color of crab, creating a combination of flavors and colors of a very rustic dish that diners cannot resist "craving".

(Crab hotpot served with vermicelli and vegetables; Photo: Nguyen Vu)

Crab hotpot is currently sold at most restaurants and seafood eateries in Phan Thiet city with prices ranging from 400,000 - 700,000 VND/hotpot depending on the number of crabs and the number of people. When visiting Phan Thiet city, tourists should remember to enjoy this unique, delicious and flavorful crab hotpot!

Nguyen Vu

Source: https://www.dulichbinhthuan.com.vn/article/view/lau-ghe-phan-thiet-dam-da-vi-ngot-bien-khoi-13699.html