Sometimes, things sound much better in theory than they end up tasting in practice… My attempt at making a “Salted Egg & Butter Crabmeat Fried Rice” was one such letdown. :( Conceptually it sounded terrific, a sauce made up of sauteed onions and garlic with oodles and oodles of melted butter and a savory twist from salted egg yolks. Lots of peeled sweet and salty lump crab meat, and rice. A sprinkling of parsley or chives for color… We started out with a kilo of rice, boiled. It wasn’t made far enough in advance, so it was still quite wet, a mistake when making fried rice, period. Always use old rice…
In a large wok, I sauteed some chopped galic and onions in 1.5 blocks of butter, say 600 grams worth total. Next, I added in several, say 5-6 salted egg yolks and whisked this until it foamed up. Added a KILO of peeled lump crab meat, no legs or red parts of the meat included (another possible flavor mistake, should have put in the legs and claws as the red meat would have been more flavorful and colorful). Then, a kilo worth of rice (dry weight). Stirred this up well and added three whole eggs to bind it all together. Added some achuete oil for a bit of color as the rice was looking a bit pallid. Some salt and pepper to taste, and some chopped parsley. Oddly, it lacked flavor and character and oomph. It was a big blob, and there was little hint of the volume of spectacular individual ingredients (and their equally spectacular cost) that went into the dish. I should have known better, I have had crab rice disasters before. I think the delicate nature and flavor of crab gets lost when it is used this way. This was expensive and a dud. :(
At the same meal, we also made some blue crabs or alimasag with butter and salted egg yolk… this was superb. Really nice.
And finally, some rellenong crab that we are testing for the restaurants. A slam dunk too. Just trying to figure out how to store it before cooking up to order. This pure crabmeat version is luxurious and tasty, none of the flavor is lost and it’s just so packed (siksik) with goodness… We hope to offer this at the restaurants in a month or two, assuming we figure out logistics…
25 Responses
Wow, everything looks delicious! the unsuccessful fried rice may not be up to your standards MM but i am sure it’s still a winner — in other words, masarap pa rin, especially when paired with the other crab dishes :-) Thanks for this post!
Maybe try cooking the rice like you would chicken rice rice? Use raw rice. Heat up butter, 1 1/2 cups (or less) continue with garlic, onions, a bit of ginger, add salted egg yolks, raw rice and toast a little, then add crab stock (water used for boiling crabs), atsuete water, pandan leaves, salt and pepper to taste. Then stir in cooked crab meat and herbs when rice is cooked. Try and try. Good luck.
If the picture up top were to be put in a restaurant’s menu, I’m pretty sure that a lot of people would be enticed to order the dish, me included.
Oh my goodness that rellenong crab looks amazing!! Gosh I wish I didn’t live quite so far away from your restaurants MM – or maybe that’s a good thing, otherwise I’ll get enormously fat :-) Sorry about the crab fried rice “disaster”, I agree, should use day old rice or the whole thing gets too soggy. Perhaps it will be a bit better if you try with older boiled rice? And what do you think of maybe putting a bit (or a lot) of crab fat aligue in it to boost the crab flavour? Some people swear by that stuff!!
Rellenong crab along with zubuchon lechon at your restaurants…oh, I am so glad I finally am retired in cebu!
I will try the crab with salted eggs, maybe with more sauce. I bet the crab relleno is to die for … will have that with atcharang papaya …
i guess the perfect pair with the dish is plain, hot rice.
I’d still eat it!
You had me at rellenong alimango……. (-:
Help from readers in LA (USA), where can I buy uncooked salted duck eggs? Thanks
Pure secret to this dish is the day old rice, preferably cold straight from the fridge.
Each ingredient should be cooked separately on intervals and mixed in at the last minute…Also adding raw eggs directly over rice makes the dish even more lumpy…just toss all ingredients- the half cooked butter yolk, the prefried rice, meat and vege til the last 3minutes of cooking. Try.
@charly, you can find them at asian markets. They come in a styrofoam packet of 4 or 6. It says duck eggs and they are not dyed.
charley from la try ai hoa market in chinatown i have bought fresh duck eggs from there i think i saw uncooked salted eggs there also good luck while at chinatown eat at ocean resto
Ahhh! Looking forward to that rellenong crab on our next trip home!
Charly, in northern and southern California, you can buy raw or uncooked salted duck eggs from 99 Ranch. They are located in the refrigerator display section, but you have to read carefully because they are stocked side by side with the cooked salted duck eggs as well.
This has also happened to me before. Never made fried rice with crab meat again. =(
MM, Gej or Herbana may have curry leaves in stock.
i remember my nanay making rellenong alimasag kahit na it’s so time consuming.
Lechon and relleno crab meat my 2 most favorite dishes and throw fried rice as well in one place this is heaven for me….wish i could visit your place Marketman.
If I want to do fried rice and I don’t have old rice, I spread the newly steamed rice on a cookie sheet and stick it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes….much better results than using the rice straight.
bakerwannabe & Meg Thank you just got some today. Next is to make the crab dish with salted duck eggs.
you should try salted eggs stir-fried with calamares….it’s a Thai dish that’s enjoyable as a viand with rice or with beer as pulutan….https://www.ezythaicooking.com/free_recipes/Stir-fried-squid-with-salted-egg-yolk.htm
Love to try that rellenong crab MM.
BTW I tried last Saturday the deep fried soft sheel crab from the Quisimbings.. Got some rather large crabs.. 6 pcs to a kilo.
That’s one of my favorite dishes here in Malaysia. Salted egg crab, they use uncooked salted egg, so it is easier to separate the yolk from the white part. Also, they add in curry leaves (crispy). Yum.
Everything looks awesome! I’ll definitely try the crab with salted egg and the relleno!