RSS
Email
Twitter
Facebook
Spotlight
Stuffed Crab (Poo Cha)
May 11th, 2011Recipes, Malaysian Recipes, Recipes, Recipes, Thai Recipes21 Comments
When I was growing up in Malaysia, my favorite times were the many festivities that we observed. With every festivity, my late grandmother would prepare lots of food. Sometimes her younger brother’s wife—my grand aunt—would come and cook together, then exchange or share the dishes they made.
I loved the idea of exchanging food, because we got to try out new dishes, dishes that are not commonly served in our family. Plus, grand aunt was a great cook who seemed to have endless new recipes to share. One of the creations was stuffed crab, a profoundly delicious concoction that never appeared on our family’s dining table. I was a happy soul whenever grand aunt made stuffed crab. I love crab and was fascinated by the presentation of the stuffed crab…but above all, I just couldn’t resist the scrumptious filling stuffed inside the beautiful crab shells…
I don’t really know the true origin of this dish. In Penang, I have had stuffed crab at Chinese seafood restaurants. In Thailand, this dish is called poo cha. In some Chinese buffet restaurants, you can find something similar. Never mind the source of this wonderful dish, for now, it’s my favorite stuffed crab that brings back a lot of childhood memories—my late grandmother’s smiley (and contended) face after tasting the goods; my grand-aunt’s generosity in sharing her new dish; and the young and excited me when I spotted the bright red crab shells with luscious filling, sitting pretty on the dining table.
(Click Page 2 for the Stuffed Crab (Poo Cha) Recipe)
Pages: 1 2
Get More Delicious Recipes Below:
Chili Crab (Crab in Sour and Spicy Sauce)
We will be leaving for Malaysia to celebrate Chinese New Year tomorrow morning. Before I leave, I feel obliged to share a very delicious recipe with you, so here is my crab in sour and spicy sauce (酸辣蟹), or known as “chili crab” in Singapore. The timing couldn’t be better as Chinese (Lunar) New Year is just a few days…
Crab Bee Hoon (Crab Noodles)
During my most recent trip to Singapore (in April), my friends took me to Melben—a popular restaurant famed for its crab dishes. When the waiter came to take the order, I knew that I had to try crab bee hoon, a dish that I had read so much about on Singaporean food blogs. The crab bee hoon was served in…
Baked Crab
What is the easiest—and the most delicious—way to eat crab? Baked. With a wok. Plain old and simple wok-baked crab with nothing other than the crab, a little bit of water, and a smoking hot wok— just like my mother used to make them…(get baked crab recipe after the jump) I love the simplicity and the extravagant great taste of…
Crab Rangoon
Crab Rangoon is an appetizer found in many Chinese restaurants in the United States. A classic American creation, crab rangoon is basically fried wonton filled with cream cheese with tiny bits of crab meat. I first encountered Crab Rangoon at a Chinese restaurant in the Midwest, when I was pursuing my Master’s Degree. The restaurant serves typical American-Chinese fare; the…
Get New Updates by Email:
PREVIOUS POST: Garlic Knots
NEXT POST: My Cookbook!
I LOVE CRAB!
I will be trying this soon. Thanks for sharing.
Let me know how your stuffed crab turns out!
Just in time cause we have Dungeness crabs right now in Florida, yay. Gotta try this one, Bee. Oh, and I LOVE Lingham’s Hot sauce, on EVERYTHING.
Yes, Lingham hot sauce on everything is the way to go!
Love crab a lot! Want to try this recipe soon for my family. Thanks Bee for sharing the recipe :)
Hi Lia, great that you like this stuffed crab recipe. Let me know how it turns out.
When my Grandmother used to make this we would add chopped up rice noodles (like the kind found in fresh spring rolls) in with the filling and then sautee over really high heat the entire cooked crab shell with the filling in some black bean and garlic sauce. Still my, and my dad’s, favorite way to eat a crab.
Interesting variation your grandmother made. Would love to try that. :)
Would love to have the stuffed crab now..the sweet fresh crab meat with the other mixtures. Perfect!
In Penang, Ocean Green Seafood serves this stuffed crab but I think my version tastes better. :)
I love stuffed crab! Thanks for sharing this recipe. If I do not have any crab shells and if I make them into patties, do I still steam the patties and them coat in egg and fry them?
Yes, you do need to steam the patties and coat in eggs and fry them. The step is the same. Good luck and let me know how they turn out. :)
OMG!!! I just love stuffed crabs. Another similar dish is stuffed lobster. Both are great. Thanks so very much for the recipe.
been very long time I don’t eat crabs, it seems I have to try it again this time with your recipe, the photo look delicious :)
These stuffed crabs look gorgeous! I love that it has pork and shrimp in there too!
Thanks for sharing the recipe. In Vietnam or Cambodia or Thailand, they coated it with egg and breadcrumbs then deep fried.
this dish is very common in chinese households in my hometown, terenganu..my mom makes it quite often..instead of deep-frying, i prefer to bake it in the oven..*drools*
I did this dish & took some photos but the photos disappeared from my camera. I coated it with egg wash then breadcrumbs and deep fried over medium heat on the stuffed side until cooked then turned to high heat to forced all the oil out. It tasted good and fully cooked. So no need to steam and deep fry as it takes too much time and the egg will not cover the stuffed side. May be one day I will try to bake it as it will be less oily as whytevee said.
Great idea to coat with egg wash and then bread crumbs. Love it. Too bad you lost your photos. Baking is great idea, I will have to try this stuffed crab recipe with cheese.
Hi Bee. …Love your site and the wonderful recipes. Can we use ground beef mince instead of pork? I am Muslim and dont eat pork.
Yum, one of my favourite, my parents like to take us to Coliseum cafe on Batu Road, but on my last trip home to KL I believe it’s gone. That used to be the only place that served this.