Come out of your shell

With delicate flesh that’s far harder to extract than that of a lobster, the humble crab is a hard-shelled hero that never fails to delight, says Tom Parker Bowles

- Tom Parker Bowles

I’VE yet to meet a crab I didn’t like. On the plate that is, rather than hanging tenaciously from my little toe, in the style of some bawdy Donald McGill seaside postcard. Because this fearsomely clawed crustacean is one of the steadfast stars of the culinary firmament, an endlessly versatile hard-shelled hero that never fails to delight.

In fact, given the choice between thuggish lobster and nimble crab, I’d always plump for the latter. The flesh is more subtle, albeit rather trickier to extract. However, that’s all part of the charm, off-road eating of the most visceral kind; cracking and crunching and picking and sucking. Of course, you can buy your meat ready prepared, but that means you miss out on all that messy, mucky fun.

As to my favourite, I couldn’t say. Some days, I dream of the hairy crab (also known as the Chinese mitten crab) at Victoria City Seafood in Hong Kong, where the lights are as bright as the produce is peerless. They come into season from late autumn to early winter, with the most sought-after found in Yangcheng Lake, near Shanghai. Demand is high, and prices, too, as much as £100 per kilo. Which means, inevitably, there’s also a thriving market in counterfeit crustacea. Simply steamed and served with a ginger-and-vinegar dipping sauce, their roe is buttery and lasciviously rich, their flesh sweet as a first kiss.