Seafood in Hainan - Hele crab
Hele crab is one of the traditional most prestigious dishes in Hainan. Produced in the seaside region around Hele Town in Wanning County, Hainan, so go the name
Hele crab.
Hele crab has rich, meaty flesh rarely found in other species. Particularly special is its golden yellow fat, which is the same colour as the yolk of a salted duck egg with a fragrant aroma and rich nutritional content. There are many methods for cooking Hele crab, steamed, boiled, fried, grilled, all are unique,perhaps the most common is to first steam the crab in broth then serve with a dipping sauce made from ginger, garlic and vinegar seasoned with condiments which highlights the delicious original flavours.
Compared to inland species, the
Hele crab has two special characteristics. Firstly, a thick layer of fat covers almost the whole of the inside of the shell. Moreover this fat is harder and present in greater quantities. Secondly,
Hele crab has superior quality flesh to that of inland species and there is more of it. The Qukou blue crab, the Sea crab and the Lingshui flute crab (a straight walking species) are also well known Hainan species.
SOURCE:
en.hainan.gov.cnhttp://www.hainan.org/UploadImages/editor/2009/2/200922437526565.jpg