Hairy Crabs Are Delicious. So Why Can’t You Get Them in the U.S.? - In Season (S1E2)
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- Опубликовано: 27 окт 2024
- Hairy crabs are a beloved specialty in China, where they’re consumed by the dozens every autumn, when they’re in season.
But in the United States, they’re considered a pest, and when you find one in the water, you’re not supposed to leave it alive.
How did a crustacean considered a delicacy in one country become a pariah in another? And how do you eat one anyway? We went to Yangcheng Lake, the center of hairy crab production in China, to find out.
This is the second episode of our series “In Season,” where we explore ingredients that are hard to find everywhere but in China. Check out our last episode on Sichuan peppercorns and wild tea here:
Why It’s So Hard to Find Sichuan Peppercorns in America
• Why It’s So Hard to Fi...
How to Make Green and Black Tea From Scratch
• How to Make Green and ...
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Host: Clarissa Wei
Videographer and Producer: Beimeng Fu and Clarissa Wei
Animation: Ray Ngan
Editor and Mastering: Joel Roche
#china #chinesefood #hairycrab
1:58 He's saying "长膏了", not "长高了". It's the fatty oil built up on their meat that makes the male crab taste better, not because they grow bigger.
And you don't want to know the fatty oil actually is... (doge
A
Sounds similar but not the same word… Chinese is so difficult 😣
@@datboiderrtyyou will know once you listen and read more
Hairy crabs are delicacy in Shanghai. You steam live crabs just like the lobster. The local dipping sauce is made by adding thin slices of ginger to Chinese vinegar. The best part is the “golden” fatty crab roe. You won’t get much meat off the crustacean though.
American entrepreneurs: "Hey China, want to buy some crabs?"
These moFos are hella strong. I once snag one it was entangle with my fishing line with an 8oz weight and it still took off running pretty fast. Took it home and ate it just to try it out. No big deal, just another crab.
Maybe that's because they're not in season. The roe is extraordinary and different from any other crabs i've tried
@@seanchou9049 blue crab and hairy crab roe are Delicous
@@m.rizqihudaya8288 Dungeoness, Blue or King Krab roe is even more expensive, and even better.
@@qweqwe1324 ofc
Where were you fishing?
FEH! Just fish them up, and sell them to local Chinese restaraunt at rock bottom prices and I can gaurante you within 6 years if that, they are all extinct!
Can confirm, these crabs are super delicious
Does the crab have covid
@@lalalalalala8314 Just like your relatives will have shortly if the rest of the woirld doesn't stop the damn virus from spreading.
rhese crabs are so small. a lot of effort to eat it..
@@salvatorenostrade3331 well its you chinese who spreads it
@@Ny0nWin it shows that western people are lazy AF ~
5:48. 😳😳. Did you see that crab jump in the net? That was impressive, but scary at the same time.
kc8767 I watched 10 times to make sure it was not my illusion lol, it’s prob a playback (reversed when editing?). That’s my assumption
wife's in there, gotta go
How was that impressive, the crabs are gonna get killed anyways. You should be thankful not impressed
It’s in reverse.
@@PL888HI he's talking about the crab's jump. That the crab is going to get killed is irrelevant.
Maybe I’ll move to Maryland just to fish the crabs
lol when they said fake hairy crabs, I thought they took normal crabs and added hairs on them
Same!😂😂
Hong Kong loves it as well, it’s an annual thing to get together with family and friends and enjoy nice crabs. They are delishhhh
5:49 did you see that crab?
Video clip was played in reverse.
@@Kwijiboi That's what I was thinking.
@@Kwijiboi ooooo oh ok. I was like that crab wanted to die with his family or something.
IF that is the case then Why the US don't export those Hairy Crabs (that's considered a pariah) to highly demand for consumers in China .. it's a win win solution, isn't it?
A shocking amount of US/Canadian waterways are too polluted to use for food. If we farmed them though…maybe there'd be a profitable market.
Kill em all fuck them hairy crabs...
@@thickgirlsneedlove2190 don't forget to use a good electric shaver!!!!
@@JC-wv7om yes do it the price for one mitten crab in China is skyrocketing
@@JC-wv7om do you think the Chinese water ways are pristine?
Me eating breakfast while watching this: HMMMM TIME FOR LUNCH 😋
So are crayfish, they are consider an invasive species, Louisiana eat them in the pounds maybe tons too.
The Chinese LOVE crayfish now. They were imported from Louisiana to Japan in the 30's for aquariums. The Japanese introduced them to china during the "unpleasantness," but the Chinese didn't exploit them as a food source until years later. In the past 30 years that has changed drastically.
My favorite dish is Dungeness Crab with BBS and Singapore Rice Noodle and Momma Wong's Wonton Noodle. This entire channel is wonderful facts and food that are healthy and wonderful to eat and experience.
These hairy crabs sell for premium prices in China. And they taste great. I wouldn't say that they taste better than the Chesapeake blue crab, but the hairy crab has an ernormous amount of roe for its size.
The main thing is to eat the roe.
@@creatorsky8764
Can't believe Chinese people pay premium for cancer.
As a marylander, i completely understood that they dont want hairy crabs in the chesapeake bay because they would compete with blue crabs and thats basically the equivalent cash crop to these in china. if your wondering, cheaspeake bay blue crabs does every single thing that these crabs are accused of.
These are one of the most delicious things I’ve ever tried! You put the rice on the shell a bit of soy sauce and omg
liar no one puts rice on it
LOL ^^^ please, people put rice on everything
@@timetraveller2300 I do mh all the flavors come out
@@timetraveller2300 rice, a bit of soy sauce, stirred into the roe inside the shell
@@creatorsky8764 that's not how you eat a 大闸蟹. here is how you eat it /watch?v=bs4k3rIQQuY
There is always a divide in China, with some, especially in the coastal north saying that the hairy crab is not edible compared to their sea crabs and the others who adore them to death.
That's true. The city I stayed was Quanzhou, where locals prefer sea crabs other than hairy carbs. So that it much more cheaper in the market.
@@mingsun7356 It's all about what's readily available, since Quanzhou is right next to the sea. Sea crabs would be a lot fresher and more delicious.
When she took a bite of the fish roe my mouth watered 🤤
My family and I love eating crabs. There are many different types of crabs you can get in a Chinese supermarket and when they are in season you can buy a bunch for cheap
but not this one though
Surprised that they dont just fish the males out, and keep the females in to make sure they can sustain the fishery. Esp. If males are more prized.
So, what's the verdict Clarissa? How does it stack up to Dungeness and other western crabs?
tbh i'm more of an alaskan king crab type of gal . ;)
Clarissa Wei omg sameee
It's different....I lived in Shanghai for more than six years and had them more than once. It's much much sweeter and tender than any other crabs out there. The first thing to notice is that since it's not saltwater, it does not have the salt water taste of any of the crabs you mentioned, such as Maryland Blue, Dungeness or Alaskan King. Because of this, it tastes fresh and very sweet due to its high umame count (kinda like MonoSodiumGlutagamate in MSG). This make the meat extremely tender and and soft if cooked right (one minute over, and the meat basically becomes uneditable) . It's also the high umame taste that can give you a diarhea from hell since your stomach aint programmed to handle that much equivalent to MSG! It's.......indescribable.....You have to try one to see what I mean!
Dungeness crabs are priced for their meat. Hairy crabs are priced for the crab yolk. It's more comparable to blue crabs in the US, which I think hairy crabs are better. For meaty crabs, the Chinese version would be the giant mud crab (Scylla serrata).
If you are from Maryland you know how destructive invasive species can be. Also, blue crab are hairy. Just eat them 😃
lol ppl like hairy crab not because it's hairy, its for the meat and the flavor, while blue crabs are usually way smaller and contains way less meat.
Me too. I am so hairy
@@erbium4308 blue crabs are in such abundance here that it doesnt really matter how much meat is in each crab, you just keep piling them on lol its like shucking oysters, you get together and do it
@@erbium4308 sounds like you've never been to a real Chesapeake crab boil!
There’s an old joke in China that asks why Godzilla only visits Japan, despite China being right next door. The answer was if Godzilla invaded China, Chinese people find a way eat him.
You know, you just need to make a country fell in war, famine with an incompetent Gov plus isolation for a century, their eating culture will become very developed with wide range of ingredients and opened with any new type foods.
Send me the crabs
First
Third
Fourth
Why the h you are everywhere? lol
You're everywhere
I’m from maryland and any crab related news is relevant to my people
Best crabs ever. It's all about the Roe.
I need to stop my mouth from watering.
Thanks for the videos.
Our waters look like that even without the crabs lol
“Hairy crabs clogs waterways, steal fish bait, interfere with traps, etc...” sounds like crabs from Asia smarter 😜
All crabs do this.
Just westerners are dumb and racist. What dumb reasons they cited.
@@creatorsky8764 how is it 'dumb and racist' to point out that a species not from an area may be able to do damage to the environment because it is not kept in check by it's natural predators and environmental conditions. read a book.
They look so cute :")
They are REALLY good!
Doesn’t the male crab have a line on its belly ? And the female is the one with the big place on its belly to hold eggs ?
My mother is from Maryland, I think they are know for blue crabs. Crab eating season are months without an "R" June, July, & August.
They are different species. Blue crab 🦀 doesn’t have hairs on the claws. The taste are almost same.
@@ruokui you clearly don't know how hairy crabs taste like 😂
@@creatorsky8764 I used to work at the custom port for inspection of animal products. We often took hairy crabs home because the drivers gave us for free. I have never missed that rotten and corrupt taste. It cannot compare with blue crabs growing in our clean cheaspeak bay.
@@creatorsky8764 moreover, if it did taste better, Europe and North America would not have processed it as a pest like Asian carps. Carps has muddy flavers here too besides bony flesh. None is silly about food.
@@ruokui ok now I can CONFIRM you have no clue about what the original hairy crab tastes like. 😂😂
Try travelling and trying hairy crabs elsewhere. Not your little small town crab in inferior waters. Lol.
Also, no clue why you mentioned Asian carp. Your racism is taking over? Just wanna shit on anything Asian which comes to mind? LOL nice try.
Lovely these are! Nice and sweet crab meat
If the American doesn't want the crabs to become invasive, why don't they just eat them??
What does one do with an invasive species? If it tastes good - catch it and eat. Marylanders know as much about eating crabs as anyone. I live outside of Baltimore, so I'll have to keep a lookout.
I’m gonna eat tf out of these if I ever catch them
Desirable vs. invasive species are strange. In Korea, American servicemen released black bass into to lakes for sportfishing. The Koreans didn't like it and now they are struggling to get rid of them, favoring their native carp. In America, we eat bass and struggle to get rid of carp. Somebody saw an opportunity and started importing the Korean (American) black bass to the U.S., which Americans are suspicious of, because it's not "American."
Where can I catch it?
The crab at 5:49 was like wait i wanna be eaten tooo
mitten crabs are among of the most expensive foods in china but in america they are seen as invasive pests and are eradicated and not allowed for export a case of one mans garbage is another mans treasure
You can get these in nyc and Boston for $25 a pop. I just had some and oh my are they good
Wait $11.00 a pop?! I think we’re sitting on a gold mine. 🤑
Dams are more expensive tho
There are thousands of these in the delta in Contra Costa County
Also me in jamaica. I love them
🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲
I've eaten hairy crabs of the kind farmed around Shanghai before. It is great tasting, but at least on the west coast where I grew up we have better - Dungeness. I'd rank the Shanghai hairies above things like Maryland blue crab by a wide margin though.
I liked your comment.
But most Americans won't know this. And will definitely not admit to it.
'Cos Murica's da best!!!!' 😂
Americans gotta be "best" in everything when they are not, evem for things like crabs. Lol.
Not even close. Dungeness crab roe are bitter, inedible.
5:49 did that crab really jumped outta water lol XD
We here in Florida eat crabs all the time. We have our kinds of crabs here so we don’t eat farm raised crabs, just ones out of the ocean.
@@robertlee6338 lol either Ben doesn't know or he only eats crabs he caught.
Because we have Dungeness and Alaskan king crabs
5:44 Jesus christ, I didn't know it was played backwards and I saw the crab "jump" out of the water and crawl into the net
I love Hairy crabs, the flavor better than the sea crabs, more fresh more tender.
That’s from my hometown. My dad buy and gift a lot of them every October. They come in fancy life-sustaining gift boxes.
Last year I bought them from local Chinese grocery store, $19.99 per each.
@@mingsun7356 about right. In Korea?
Give me a link
@@mingsun7356 Wtf that's expensive
5:50 did that crab just jump out the water into the net?! 😅
Fresh water fish and crabs are the best!! Nothing comparable here in the US!
Ayyy another video from my culture Chinese
For those countries which have the problem of the invasion of mitty crab, I am highly recommend to sell them to China or Hong Kong, we will enjoy them
Im a asian chef and these crabs are just like any other crab especially similar in taste with mud crab, you know nowadays people put up for your own shit in a 10 years from now will fetch fortune and it will be categorized as medicinal value. 🤦🏻♂️
what medicinal value? i eat these just because of their fatty oil...
Compare to Hairy Crabs, crawfish has more popular in China. Some people say no to Hairy crabs but nobody says no to crawfish. China produces 2.39 million tons of crawfish every year, and people pay 51 billion US. Dollar for that every year.
So what you're saying is we need to eat all the invading crabs...
They do taste good 👁👄👁
Tilapia also considered delicious food in Asia.
but US look at them as a nuisance
You mean carp
I legit thought its a monster from skyrim or fallout before reading the title
Just eat it
its the guy at 4:57 that make this video hillarious xD
Honestly donate it to me
so if the crab tastes fine, why not just eat them? since the crabs are already in the US, might as well eat them.
Omg those are da best! Miss them sooooo much T____T
This video didn't really explain why these crabs aren't caught and eaten in the US, UK, and other places they've become invasive.
Meanwhile americans who eating orange chicken and fortune cookies, think those are what chinese eat and they are warriors to try them, and teach their kids that this is cultural diversity. Fuckin brilliant!
Hmm USD11.00 the price dropped? The last time I was in Shanghai (2001) the locals invited me for dinner and had me tried these hairy buggers that was on season at that time., cost around USD20.00/crab.
quality of crabs and the amount of good "yolk" makes a huge difference in price.
have you try the eastern US ?
I ve never had "real" Yangcheng lake crabs, but what I had were good too
TBH, hairy crabs are the best crabs I have ever had. I buy lots every year.
Delicious 🦀😋
man the us gotta be quick on stuff like this... they should just it keep it and sell it back to china or pay off their debt LMFAO :0
Fuck that just kill it
@@thickgirlsneedlove2190 "kill a source of revenue. fuck income"
If we start farming an invasive species it will fuck up the local ecosystem
@@chefboyjc9439 nah, just catch the invasive species and fkin sell em, how about that?
orang amerika golog.
makanan enak malah di anggap hama dan beracun.
padahal babi dan ayam potong jauh lebih banyak mengandung bahan2 kimia ~
Clarissa is bae 😍
These types of crabs are known to erode shorelines and water ways because they burrow into soft banks. They're considered an invasive species, so import is prohibited. Invasive species of plants and animals can cost literally billions a year in damages, not to mention the permanent change in local ecology.
5:50 Let meee geeet innnn
EVER THING IS A DELICACY EVEN WALL PAPER .
These are in the lake Erie and Ontario.
A stark contrast to crayfish, which was brought to Asia and China in ballast water from Louisianan delta. Ironically crayfish is not treated in China as a foreign species and problem to local environment, instead a national delicacy, and is farm-raised in large scale. Of course crayfish is also a local delicacy in New Orleans, but nothing compared to its status in China.
Asians love seafood and are not racist or anal about such things.
But westerners like to draw lines and call others invasive when they are the most invasive species on earth. 😂
Not many natural environment places left in China to protect....
Well, Yangcheng lake actually locates in the city Suzhou
"Don't eat the gills or heart or intestines"
How the hell will I know which are the gills, heart or intestines?
If you ever open any whole crab, you'll know right away. Just eat the part that looks like crab meat. Esting the guts from freshwater animals(especially polluted lakes) is dangerous. For sea crabs, however, eat everything but the gills (finger like feathers on the sides) as long as there arent any warnings about toxic waste in the waters
Dude , you can just Google it
The gills/lungs and intestines are in the same spot, it looks like a ribcage, that's the only part of the crab that is not edible and it's shells. For some occasions if it's red tide, you can't eat the crab butter "yellowish" part because it might contain high level of demoic acid might lead to poisoning. Though as an Asian, I guarantee that that's the tastiest part.
But since it was a fresh water crab, it's safe from red tide.
Have you actually *seen* a crab my guy?
my dude, have you ever even fucking eaten crab?
I like hairy too. 😋 Even people toom
He said it's only popular since the 90's. That's not true. The crabs were being sold and served since when I was a child since the 50's.
But didn't take off. Especially for export outside China.
I am in Singapore. We only started seeing these heavily advertised and promoted and became a 'luxury item' on the seasonal menus in restaurants from the 90s. He is correct.
Alright! I am heading to Maryland to catch me Chinese Crabs.
Fireworks in the middle of the day. That shit just ain't right.
These crabs can go up to 20$ a pop, and that’s considered cheap in america
they are way smaller than sea crabs
like how we were told msg was bad in the 80s
A tasty crab but a bad crab for its behavior Mr. crabby does damage
i have caught these in the early 2000s but not any more.
I lived in a harbour village in Britain, local fishermen once gave us crabs and other shellfish for free, as younger people these day had no idea nor interest to eat them. British sold sea crabs to France and Spain at very low price, then French and Spanish made them into fine dinning and sold out at ridiculously high price to Chinese tourists.
This vid shown how lucky the US yet didn't appreciate it, it is a new food in the menu, best its plenty
No, this vid intentionally downplayed the problem that hairy crabs can cause to the environment in the US.
@@sunshineyellow ahhh its thats worse??
I tried these. They were good but I prefer sea crabs. Salt water produce is always tastier in my view.
The best are mud crabs.
Sri Lankan mud crabs. No competition.
Its a crab, it has hair, its delicious
Very tasty crab and smells so so good when cook, plus it shell is not that hard.
Yum. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Stfu
IDK why these crabs are so prized... compared to ANY other crab they are inferior in taste and meat yield. IMO the only reason one would eat this crab is because its the only crab available.
The ones you had were probably not cooked right. Hairy crabs are easily in the top 3 of tastiest crabs. Or it can be that you have different taste than mine, but just because you don’t like something doesn’t mean others don’t like them too.
@@lc4147 I had them at four different places over a period of a week , One of the places was at Fairmont Yangcheng lake resort, which literally right next to Yangcheng Lake. The people I was with seemed to really enjoy the crabs and were super happy that they were getting to eat them. But really it seemed like you/I were eating more of the sauce the crabs came in which was super good. but the actual crab meat itself was very little and the flavor was overpowered by the super stronge seasoning and sauces. But when I eat crab I want to taste the crab itself and not all the sauce and spices that these mitten crabs were drowning in. Not one of the places I went were you able to just get the crab without it being served in some kind of really pungent sauce. I did manage to taste some of the meat without sauce and it was pretty good. But not as good as the hype would have led me to believe. IMO a Dungeness crab tastes way better. ALso I have no problem with people enjoying them so much The people I was with were super happy about the crabs and really enjoyed themselves so that was worth it just for that as they said they rarely get to eat it.
So with 20,000 crabs selling at $11 plus the restaurant, wouldn't that make this guy very wealthy by Mainland Chinese standards?
Not sure. Assuming yearly output of 20000 crabs and selling at $11 a pop at the restaurant. That’s $220K yearly revenue relegated to crab sales. And you have to consider costs. Let’s say it’s 20% profit margin, then yearly profit is $44K.
To put that into perspective, the average individual yearly income of the region is about $12K. And it’s not uncommon for a new college graduate who works in manufacturing or technology to make more than $30k a year.
So this man probably could be considered upper middle class.
@@thunderboltlightning6010 yeah that makes sense. It's hard to tell in China because in some areas the average people live in total poverty while In others a 1 bedroom apartment is more than an apartment in NYC of similar size. Thank you for the context.