How to cook Ginataang Alimasag or Crabs in Coconut Milk

Ingredients for 2 portions:

• Crabs – 1 kg
• Cooking oil – 2 tbsp
• Coconut milk – 600ml
• Garlic – 2 bulbs
• Onion – 2 bulbs
• Ginger – 3 inch piece
• Chilli – 3 birds eye (adjust to your preference)
• Shrimp paste – 1 tbsp
• Fish sauce – 2 tbsp
• Black pepper – 1 tsp
• Lemon Grass – 4 stalks
• Bunch of fresh vegetables: Green beans, Spinach, Pak Choi, baby sweetcorn

Prepare all vegetables: Chop onion. Slice garlic. Cur ginger into a large pieces. If you wish, you can grate ginger as well, but it is not really necessary. Crush a bit lemon grass. Chop chilli. Separate Pak Choi. Wash spinach. You can cut sweetcorn into a pieces, or leave as it is

Remove crabs tail and cut them into a halves. It is necessary to do for fast cooking and for quick taste exchange between crab meat and coconut milk sauce.

At this step you should prepare spicy components for your coconut milk. It is very simple. In a few spoons of cooking oil – soften the chopped onion. Add chopped garlic and cook for few minutes steering constantly. At this stage you need always stir it to avoid burning. Add sliced ginger and chopped chilli. Add shrimp paste and stir it in. Fry for few minutes.

Add coconut creamy milk and black pepper. Stir until it turns into uniform liquid.

Add the rest of spices, like fish sauce, salt to taste. Add lemon grass and beans. Bring to boil. From now you don’t need to stir it and it is better to cook under lid.

Place crabs into the boiling liquid. Don’t worry if some parts will not be completely covered. Add broccoli and sweetcorn. Bring to boil and simmer 5 minutes

Turns crabs, specially those, not fully covered by coconut milk and simmer for another 5 minutes. Please note, that this time is perfect for these small floating crabs. If you have large crabs – adjust time accordingly.

Add Pak Choi and cook another 2-3 minutes, until it will softened.

Add spinach and simmer 2-3 minutes more.

Stir it carefully, please remember that cooked crabs can be fragile. Serve.

If after reading of our step by step guide how to cook Crabs in Coconut Milk (Ginataang Alimasag), you still have a questions, then please watch our short video Crabs cooked in Coconut Milk - Ginataang Alimasag with all details and instructions: