The white, sticky substance in male crabs is crab paste, which is secreted by the paraphysical glands of the male. When the male crab matures, the parasympathetic glands are abnormally developed, occupying most of the reproductive system and even lifting the crab shell. The gonads are rich in protein, lipids and other nutrients, and are highly nutritious and delicious.
Crab paste is a collection of semen and organs from the male crab's seminal vesicle, and is also a sign of the male crab's strength and maturity. Crab paste natural state for the green-white translucent jelly-like liquid; steamed, for translucent, sticky, will be a little greasy gelatin. There are two kinds of crab paste, river crab paste and sea crab paste, river crab paste is slightly sweet, sea crab paste is slightly fishy, it contains water, protein, fatty acids, vitamins and other ingredients.
The integrity of crab paste has nothing to do with its taste or nutritional value. In the wild, by the ninth month of the lunar calendar, the crab yolk of female crabs grows the fullest; by October, the crab paste (crab oil) of male crabs grows the thickest. Therefore, in the past to eat crabs, there are "nine female and ten male" said. Meaning: the lunar calendar in September to eat female crabs, the lunar calendar in October to eat male crabs.
Crab paste or crab yolk
The crab with crab yolk is generally fatter, characterized by an egg yolk-like substance inside the crab shell (stomach), but not very thick. Crab paste, on the other hand, is formed when the crab reaches a considerable fat, such as: red paste grab crab, referred to as paste crab.
1, crab yolk is rich in protein, phospholipids and other nutrients, nutrient-rich, but at the same time contains high levels of oil and cholesterol. Crab roe can be made into many delicacies: crab roe porridge, crab roe tofu and so on. Shanghai Tang is also famous for its delicious snacks - Crabmeat Xiao Long (蟹粉小笼). As the name suggests, the main ingredient is crab roe. There are two kinds of crab roe: river crab roe and sea crab roe.
2. Crab paste may also be fat. Because the male crab in order to prepare for winter, the gradual accumulation of fat, grow into crab paste (commonly known as crab oil). Peel the shell of the male crab, you can see the crab shell and crab lump among the white, sticky things, is the crab paste (crab oil). When cooked, the crab paste becomes translucent. The more crab paste, the stronger the male crab.