curacha

curacha – /ku-rát-tsa/ (Zamboanga and Sulu sea crab, seafood; dw Span. cucaracha [cockroach]) [n.] spanner crab (sc.name: Ranina ranina) \red frog crab.

canduyon in Surigaonon (Surigao City, Surigao del norte)
ipis dagat in Batangueño (northern part of Batangas) 

ipis in Zambaleno (Sambal of Zambales)
kusimay in Ilocano 

pawik in Waray (Northern Samar) 

kagang pama or  bawa in Tausug

A deep-sea crab with an orange to red colored shell even when uncooked.

In the Philippines, this crab used to be known as endemic to the seas of Zamboanga del Sur and Sulu sea, but my research and later discoveries disproved this contention. Similar or closely-related species are also found in other parts of Mindanao, Visayas (particularly in the Pacific side), and the northeastern part of Luzon, though scarce and hardly seen or caught. Some species are also found thriving on the coasts of Hawaii and Australia.

So called curacha, from Spanish cucaracha, which means  "cockroach," because this crustacean looks like a huge cockroach. 

The shell (carapace)  of curacha is goblet-shaped, with an average size of about the size of a human palm. Some are twice as big as the average ones. The shell has hairy short bristles on the edges, has a pair of large pincers on the sides that extend toward the front. It also has three sets of legs, two of which are attached to a segmented hard-shelled tail similar to that of a lobster but smaller and shorter.

Watch Youtube video:

curacha - redfrog crab, spanner crab

When cooked, curacaha is more of shells than meat but is highly sought after for its delectable taste.

Unlike most crabs, such as the alimasag and the alimango that walk sideward,  curacha only moves forward and backward.

The biggest ones are priced at PHP689.00 a kilogram in 2015 in the Shopwise supermarket of Festival Mall, Alabang, Muntinlupa City.

Curacha crabs being sold at the Shopwise supermarket in Festival Mall, Alabang at PHP689.00 a kilogram in 2015.

My Personal Notes:

Many years back, I thought this crab was named after a classic dance with fancy moves. I thought the crab would just move like that or it would be you doing the dancing steps after dining it or when you're pinched by this crab. I was wrong.

I tried also to look for it in the public market of Zamboanga City in my few travels to the Zamboanga peninsula but could hardly find it there these last few years.  If I only knew that I could easily find it in the supermarket, a few hundred meters away from my workplace here in Metro Manila, I would not look for this crab that far.    

When in Zamboanga, try the Chavacano dish curacha con salsa de gata (spanner crab in coconut cream sauce). [Photo courtesy of Officina de Turismo Local of Zamboanga City Local Government]  

All photos by Edgie Polistico are copyrighted. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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pakbol

pakbol - /pak-bol/ (Maranao snack) [n.] fried cassava-coated plantain.

The cassava root is peeled, grated into pulp, and squeezed the juice out. The extracted juice is discarded away. A handful of cassava pulp is pressed between palms and molded flat into a mat. A peeled rareripe saba (plantain) is placed in the middle of the flattened cassava pulp and then rolled altogether until the banana is entirely wrapped in the cassava pulp. Pakbol is deep-fried in cooking oil until cooked or golden brown.

When serving, pakbol is pressed and rolled on a bed of white or brown sugar.

Related posts:

Tindok

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biyaki

biyaki – /bi-ya-kî/ (Maranao snack) [n.] steamed cassava with young corn.

The cassava roots are peeled, grated, pounded, then mixed with grated young corn kernels and sugar.

A ladle scoop of the mixture is rolled in banana leaf (or cornhusk) and then folded on both ends, forming a rectangular thick packet. 

The packets are boiled for about an hour in a pot half-filled with water or until biyaki is cooked.

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ALL RIGHTS RESREVED.

See Index of Entries here.

For more about Filipino food, see  this Philippine Food, Cooking, and Dining Dictionary. It is OPEN and FREE.

daludal

Bundles of daludal in Santiago City Isabela public market.

daludal – /da-lú-dal/ (Ilocano vegetable) [n.] taro runner.

takway in Negrense, Capizeño, & Tagalog

pusaw in Maranao

 

It is the long stalk of a young taro runner that grows away sideward from the mother plant. A newly sprouting stalk of gabi (taro) that is slender with an unopened young leaf.

Dadulal is often taken and used in cooking as a vegetable and is referred to as the Philippine native asparagus. It is harvested and cooked into a variety of vegetable dishes, much like that of Ilocano aba.

In Negros and Panay islands where it is called takway, it is often boiled and then seasoned with suka (vinegar) and asin (salt) or included in making Ilonggo laswa (boiled assorted vegetables).

A vendor cleaning some takways she is selling at Silay City public market during one of my travels in the province of Negros Occidental.

 

A heap of takway being sold on the sidewalk of Silay City public market in one of my travels in Negros Occidental province.

The stalks can also be cooked with coconut milk to become ginataan or made into adobo by simmering the cutlets in vinegar and soy sauce with or without sagpaw or sahog.

The peeled takway. Just wash them clean and they are ready for cooking

All photos by Edgie Polistico in this blog are copyrighted. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

See Index of Entries here

For more about Filipino food, see  this Philippine Food, Cooking, and Dining Dictionary. It is OPEN and FREE.