One thing I have realized is that food in restaurants generally suck. I mean, if you compare it to homemade food.
Like crabs, for example. Gim and I once ate in Red Crab, however the crabs they served were tiny and not-so-fresh. It cost a lot, too. We’ve never gone back.
These days, we make our own crab at home. The most important ingredient for the best-tasting sauce is Alavar sauce (made from aligue and spices). I used to have my mom bring it over before, but it is now readily available from the Legazpi Sunday market. Yes! There is a stall and the 1/2 kilo pack sells for about a hundred. 🙂
By the way, the sellers normally speak Chavacano. 😛 Last time that I went there, I felt so happy to see Zamboanga wares that I spoke to the seller in Chavacano without thinking! He understood. 🙂
I could also buy their ready-made crab or curacha dishes, but it’s so much cheaper and fresher to make it myself. 🙂
On some Sundays when my boyfriend is not on duty (means he gets to go home for the day), he goes to the seafood market before coming home and buys about 1 to 2 kilos of fresh live crab. I make sure we have the sauce, the rice, and other ingredients ready. Then it’s cooking time!!
Here is a photo of our crab being cooked in coconut sauce. No Alavar sauce added yet. I regret to say I have no other photos. The crab cooks fairly quickly. In our excitement to eat, we forgot to take pics. Hahaha! Mga patay-gutom!
For the recipe, you can take a look at this old post: Curacha in alavar sauce. Just substitute curacha with crab. 🙂
