Loud Murmurs

Alaskan King Crab at Sun Sui Wah

It’s that time of year again, when the Alaskan King Crab turns up at the Sun Sui Wah Restaurant on Main Street. It’s a combination of spectacle and cuisine that only lasts for a few weeks. This year, we got together with a bunch of friends and had one.

David wrestles the crab

I got my turn holding him. I have to admit that for a moment it did remind me of one of the creatures from Alien. I always wonder who was the first person to try eating what looks like an enormous insect. Never mind, as you can see, all’s well that ends well (in our stomachs, that is):

Cooked Crab. Very Yummy.

Thanks to Irma Cho for these fun photos.

By David Drucker | Filed in Food, Friends, Vancouver | March 8, 2008 7:11 pm

5 Comments to “Alaskan King Crab at Sun Sui Wah”

MJ Ankenman
Posted: Mar 9th, 2008 at 9:18 am

Wow.…I had no idea that they were that big! I have only had the legs before and they were smaller than that. So do you need a group of people to do this? What is the sauce on the crab? I read somewhere else that this was the time for Alaskan King Crab but didn’t know the whole ritual. Do tell more?

David Drucker
Posted: Mar 9th, 2008 at 12:20 pm

Author Comment

Hi MJ —

I think you could get away with a crab for 1 person, but it is a lot of meat, to be sure, although you have to work to get it out of those legs. For 4 people it might be more reasonable. For our table it was a nice first course, and the noodles helped to make it more substantial.

The sauce is a sort of cream sauce (a bit like Fettuccine Alfredo without the cheese), flavoured lightly with ginger and a hint of sesame oil. I saw other crabs served without the sauce; I think they were steamed with garlic. Sun Sui Wah specializes in this dish, and I thought the sauce was just light enough, even if it did make for pretty messy eating.

As for ritual, it’s pretty much the bringing out of the crab by the waiter, and the chance for many to get their picture taken holding it like I did. They are really imposing, since they are still moving around (although not as dangerously as a lobster with pincers).

Bethany
Posted: Mar 9th, 2008 at 6:00 pm

YUM YUM YUM!!
I was just thinking how cool this is and still thinking how cool it was to read about Antartica and it occurs to me that I’ve never associated any crustaceans with the southern cold places…there must be some?

David Drucker
Posted: Mar 9th, 2008 at 6:28 pm

Author Comment

Hi Bethany!
I asked Pam if there was anything they ate out of the Drake Passage and she said that although there were things on menu of the ship that said ‘Argentinian style’ or ‘Chilean’, she didn’t eat anything that was particularly caught there, nor did she ‘throw any lines over the side to catch anything’. She did notice one fishing boat in Argentinian waters (at night). It was like a factory ship, with processing machinery and lights as they worked, so there must be some sort of fish in those cold southern seas. There’s still lots of krill, which is what the penguins, seals and whales all eat.