This stuff comes in two forms:

Bags:
http://www.chotnho.com/showthread.php?t=12770

Plastic jar, frozen and (usually) shrinkwrapped:
http://nhipcau.hatnang.com/index.php...ist/popup/2215

After decades of wondering what this stuff is every time I see it at
the store, I finally bought some. The stuff is not cheap (6oz jar
is $8). I'm guessing it's fermented, which would explain the color
and packaging. What is it used for?

-sw

Sqwertz wrote:
> This stuff comes in two forms:
>
> Bags:
> http://www.chotnho.com/showthread.php?t=12770
>
> Plastic jar, frozen and (usually) shrinkwrapped:
> http://nhipcau.hatnang.com/index.php...ist/popup/2215
>
> After decades of wondering what this stuff is every time I see it at
> the store, I finally bought some. The stuff is not cheap (6oz jar
> is $8). I'm guessing it's fermented, which would explain the color
> and packaging. What is it used for?
>
> -sw

the bag:

ingredients: oceanic crab meat pure water. no mention anywhere that
it's fermented?
there's cooking instructions in the corner but the text is so small.
'put crab meat and 500g water in cookpot...'

the jar:

i've seen something similar, which clearly states 'salted'. these
fiddler crabs are tiny, and cured/salted. has a peculiar taste and
smell so be aware. delicious in som tom thai [lightly pounded with other
som tom ingredients]. or... mix the lightly crushed crabs well with
lots of lime juice, minced garlic, and pounded chilis, and sliced star
fruits. eaten with cool [as in not piping hot] rice and other little
sides. salted crabs are eaten more in rural thailand/cambodia/southern
vietnam.

On Sat, 04 Jul 2009 21:25:07 +0200, FG wrote:

> Sqwertz wrote:
>> This stuff comes in two forms:
>>
>> Bags:
>> http://www.chotnho.com/showthread.php?t=12770
>>
>> Plastic jar, frozen and (usually) shrinkwrapped:
>> http://nhipcau.hatnang.com/index.php...ist/popup/2215
>>
>> After decades of wondering what this stuff is every time I see it at
>> the store, I finally bought some. The stuff is not cheap (6oz jar
>> is $8). I'm guessing it's fermented, which would explain the color
>> and packaging. What is it used for?
>
> the bag:
>
> ingredients: oceanic crab meat pure water. no mention anywhere that
> it's fermented?
> there's cooking instructions in the corner but the text is so small.
> 'put crab meat and 500g water in cookpot...'

Yeah - I saw that after I posted. But why is it brown and sludgy?
I don't trust Asian ingredient lists at all. I thought maybe this
was the same stuff, but that just says "crab meat", not whole crabs.
So I guess that's something different.

> i've seen something similar, which clearly states 'salted'. these
> fiddler crabs are tiny, and cured/salted. has a peculiar taste and
> smell so be aware.

Nothing scares me, foodwise.

I have a lot of fermented fish products in the fridge/pantry (mam
ruoc, mam tom, mam nem, nuoc mam, belacan, kapi, fermented fish
fillets in oil, dried/salted fish, several sambals made with
terassi... (did I forget any?), but nothing made from crab. This
will round out my repertoire.

> delicious in som tom thai [lightly pounded with other
> som tom ingredients]. or... mix the lightly crushed crabs well with
> lots of lime juice, minced garlic, and pounded chilis, and sliced star
> fruits. eaten with cool [as in not piping hot] rice and other little
> sides. salted crabs are eaten more in rural thailand/cambodia/southern
> vietnam.

OK, thanks. I think I saw one of these plastic jars inidcating it
was mangrove crab (which I think is the same as mud crab and maybe
fiddler).

I was wondering about the Vietnamese preps mostly, but I'm sure
there's enough here to try everything suggested ;-)

-sw

"Sqwertz" > wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 04 Jul 2009 21:25:07 +0200, FG wrote:
>
>> Sqwertz wrote:
>>> This stuff comes in two forms:
>>>
>>> Bags:
>>> http://www.chotnho.com/showthread.php?t=12770
>>>
>>> Plastic jar, frozen and (usually) shrinkwrapped:
>>> http://nhipcau.hatnang.com/index.php...ist/popup/2215
>>>
>>> After decades of wondering what this stuff is every time I see it at
>>> the store, I finally bought some. The stuff is not cheap (6oz jar
>>> is $8). I'm guessing it's fermented, which would explain the color
>>> and packaging. What is it used for?
>>
>> the bag:
>>
>> ingredients: oceanic crab meat pure water. no mention anywhere that
>> it's fermented?
>> there's cooking instructions in the corner but the text is so small.
>> 'put crab meat and 500g water in cookpot...'
>
> Yeah - I saw that after I posted. But why is it brown and sludgy?
> I don't trust Asian ingredient lists at all. I thought maybe this
> was the same stuff, but that just says "crab meat", not whole crabs.
> So I guess that's something different.
>
>> i've seen something similar, which clearly states 'salted'. these
>> fiddler crabs are tiny, and cured/salted. has a peculiar taste and
>> smell so be aware.
>
> Nothing scares me, foodwise.
>
> I have a lot of fermented fish products in the fridge/pantry (mam
> ruoc, mam tom, mam nem, nuoc mam, belacan, kapi, fermented fish
> fillets in oil, dried/salted fish, several sambals made with
> terassi... (did I forget any?), but nothing made from crab. This
> will round out my repertoire.
>
>> delicious in som tom thai [lightly pounded with other
>> som tom ingredients]. or... mix the lightly crushed crabs well with
>> lots of lime juice, minced garlic, and pounded chilis, and sliced star
>> fruits. eaten with cool [as in not piping hot] rice and other little
>> sides. salted crabs are eaten more in rural thailand/cambodia/southern
>> vietnam.
>
> OK, thanks. I think I saw one of these plastic jars inidcating it
> was mangrove crab (which I think is the same as mud crab and maybe
> fiddler).
>

Mangrove Crabs, sometimes called mud crabs are large members of the swimming
crab family,
with a pair of flippers in place of the last set of legs. The US East Coast
Blue Claws are representative of this group.
Fiddlers are walking crabs and completely different, not to mention quite
small by comparison.

M.