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The story of soft-shell crab! One of the most popular seafood

• What is soft-shell crab?

soft-shell crab is not the species name but the growth stage of the crab It can be called the molting process. Crabs are animals with a hard shell. When the crab is fully grown until the shell is tight, it cannot expand. Therefore, the crab must molt in order to replace the new shell until only the membranous remains are covered in a short period of time. After three to four hours, the shell will gradually harden until a new shell is about 30 percent larger. During this time, the crabs are very soft. It is called “soft-shell crab ”.

Crabs molt ten times before they are fully grown. But catching soft-shell crabs in the wild is very difficult as the crabs molt during the night to prevent the smell from attacking. It is hard to see that the crabs are moulting. In addition, it is still unknown when the crabs will molt because each crab will not molt at the same time. We had to keep an eye on it day and night to not miss out on picking the “soft-shell crab ”. If we miss it, we have to wait several days for the crab to molt again. Each crab takes only a few hours to molt. When the molting period has been captured, it must be hurriedly brought up to soak in fresh water. If the crab is left to soak in salt water for more than 2 hours, the crab will absorb water and minerals in the salt water, including calcium to create a new hard shell until the soft-shell crab becomes hard shell again. After being immersed in fresh water for a while, it will be knocked into the ice to make the crab lose consciousness. Then it is frozen at a temperature not exceeding 18 degrees Celsius. It can be stored for up to 2-3 months.

The most popular crab species to raise as soft-shell crabs is the Black Crab. Therefore, soft-shell crab is black crab or molting crab. In fact, it’s not just black crabs that molt as all crabs can molt as well. But the firm black crab has high endurance and is easier to raise than other crabs. Blue crabs are sea crabs that are popular to eat but are weak. When the soft-shell crab is freshly molted, the crab shell becomes soft enough to eat the whole shell. It is a nutritious food with high calcium content and low cholesterol.

• How to farm soft-shell crab

There are 2 types of farming: fish cages and ponds. Pond farming is easy to care for and manage. Soft-shell crab ponds range in size from 2-10 rai with 1-2 floodgates. In the middle of the pond there is a wooden walkway with a roof running between the ponds for feeding crabs and inspecting soft-shell crabs. The raft to support the crab basket is PVC pipe 1-2 inches in diameter, 10-20 meters long, and use bamboo to cross and hold the pipe. The distance must fit the basket width 22.6 cm. length 30 cm. height 16.1 cm. The raft in the basket must be moved by pulling the rope to facilitate feeding and observing the molting of the crabs.

Before the crab’s molt, the carapace resembles dark black moss. We have to watch the crabs every 4 hours because each crab will not molt at the same time. We had to keep an eye out day and night to not miss the soft-shell crab collection. If we fail, we have to wait several days for the crab to molt again. Each crab takes several hours to molt each time. If we see 2 crabs, one is a peeled crust and the other is a soft-shell crab. The crab molt period is when the crab is most susceptible. The soft-shell crab herder has to rely on this moment to quickly catch the crab and soak it in fresh water.

It takes a lot of time to become a soft-shell crab. In addition to being able to chew whole crabs without the hassle of peeling them off, they also contain 3-4 times more meat than hard shell crabs and are low in cholesterol. It is a good source of protein, calcium, iodine and DHA fatty acids that are important for brain cells.

This is why “soft-shell crab” is so popular. However, northern Thailand is also very popular with this menu as it is far from the sea. Seafood restaurants in Chiang Mai are popular to bring it to cook many things, including our restaurant, Terrace Seafood Chiang Mai Seafood Restaurant, with many soft-shell crab menus such as fried soft-shell crab with tamarind sauce / fried soft-shell crab with garlic / soft-shell crab stir-fried with curry powder. These are popular menu items where you can eat the whole crab.

The story of “soft-shell crab” lets us know that there are many raw materials under the sea that we do not yet know. We have to admire the human observations that make us acquainted with this delicious ingredient. In the next article we will talk about what seafood, stay tuned.

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