I can’t remember when was the last time I ate the hairy crabs 大闸蟹. I vaguely remember eating them when I was very young, probably just a small spoonful of roe. The whole family had to share 2 teeny weeny crustaceans.

I’ve been seeing all these advertisements on the yummy crabs splashed all over the newspapers. They are in season now! Everyone’s talking about eating them, except me!! I feel so… Left out…

Someone posted on the munch ministry Facebook page on her home cooked hairy crabs!! (Munch Ministry is a cooking club where members share recipes. I’ve only been drooling over the yummy photos so far.) She even posted that Sheng Shiong (a local supermarket) has a promotion this weekend – 5 live crabs for a mere $16.80!!

So I announced to the hub, “We are buying live hairy crabs from Sheng Shiong! I’ve a craving!” (the prerogative of a Preggie, I’ve only 2 months more to this incentive and I’m determined to make the most out of it!)

“Are you sure? You know how to cook crabs meh???” he looked at me doubtfully.

“How difficult can it get? Just throw into the pot lor!! Do you know that you pay at least 30 bucks to eat one in a restaurant?!”

“Eee! So cruel!! You are cooking them alive!!”

“Hmmm.. I’m sure I can find a more humane way to cook them. Worst case, just google lor!!! Everything is on google now!” I replied him confidently. “I’ve a craving!! You know?! Craving!? It means your son wants to eat it??” pointing at my tummy.

“Whatever.. As long as you know what you are doing..” he replied resignedly.

So off we went to the nearest Sheng Shiong and came back with 5 live hairy crabs.

“Be careful! They are very aggressive!”

“It’s ok. I will just clean them with the strings on.”

“What string? They aren’t tied up. They are crawling around.”

I peered into the bag and shrieked, “you didn’t ask the Sheng Shiong people to tie them up!!”

“You didn’t tell me that I’m supposed to. So how?!”

=.=” (my face)

“Never mind. I’ll figure it out later. I’ll just dump them in the pail with some cold water first.”

(10 mins later)

I heard the hub shouting. I was upstairs, changing to go out. “Hey! There are only 3 in the pail! Where are the other 2?! They’ve escaped!!!”

We found one in the basin. We looked high and low and couldn’t find the last one.

“Maybe you bought 4 only.”

“I counted 5 as I put them in the bag!! Do you think it went downstairs?”

I gave him the ya-right look. “The crab climbed the stairs huh?!”

“I wouldn’t want it to lurk around and pinch 宝贝.”

He leaned over the rails and exclaimed “There it is!!”

I peered over the rails and there it was. Lying downstairs on its back. It must have, somehow, escaped and fell from the kitchen window.

I went downstairs with a pair of chopsticks and prodded it. It’s still alive!!! I gingerly picked it up with the chopsticks and went back upstairs. I put it back into the pail with its brothers and sisters (I still couldn’t differentiate the gender yet).

“What if they all escaped while we were gone?!”

Horrors!

There! If I come home to an empty pail, then I’ll concede defeat to the crabs’ resourcefulness in escaping….

It looked secure enough to me. The truth awaits me…. Will I still have crabs left for my supper?!??