This is my totally late entry to the Lasang Pinoy 15 Blogging Event: Recycled, Reloaded hosted by Mike over at Lafang. I have had the photos since last weekend but have been 
swamped at the office (who says I am retired???)… After the humongous platters of chili crabs that we enjoyed last weekend, we just couldn’t finish all of the 7-8 kilos of crab and I was wondering what to do with the leftovers. I was worried that if I recycled the crab meat with the chili sauce, it would be an overpowering addition to almost anything…but I was craving a crab torta, omelet or frittata the following morning so I decided to experiment. The crab meat from several leftover portions of crab reached a cup or more after peeling….
I heated up a pan, added some butter, sautéed some chopped onions, tomatoes, the crab, salt and pepper and some chopped Italian parsley. Once mixed and warmed through, 
I removed this mixture to a bowl and wiped the pan clean with a paper towel. In a small bowl, I cracked 7 large eggs and lightly scrambled them. Put the pan back on the fire, added some butter, the eggs, the crab mixture and stirred gently to distribute the crab evenly within the egg mixture. After a few mintues of cooking over medium heat, I did a “high wire†flip of the torta or frittata by placing a plate over the pan and turning it over then slipping it back onto the pan (if you don’t like this maneouver, you can just make this in an ovenproof pan and stick it in a hot oven instead).
The crab torta turned out perfect. Nice crab flavor and a hint of tomato and chilli but not too spicy at all. It was semi-moist and a great dish for breakfast or brunch. 
I like to eat my torta (crab or meat) with ketchup and rice, but I also served it with a side salad of recycled fruits from the fridge for those with more western tastes among the guests that weekend. With two slices of wheat toast, this also paired very well. For the fruit salad, I removed several of the leftover fruits, chopped them up and squeezed half an orange over the pieces and added some mint leaves. Definitely a good way to “recycle or reload†chili crabs…
20 Responses
Looks yummy. It would be a sin to waste perfectly good crabs!
Looks perfect. What about a video of the high wire?
i really admire you for using the word “recycle”…a totally different and delicious conotation to the word…..no waste of good food….
my sis makes and sells fantastic spanish tortillas, these look almost as good as the ones she makes!
Great job on the second life of the chili crab. It totally looks different from the maiden voyage! Beautiful transformation. Unable to tell the difference whether you initially commissioned the crabs for torta or chili. When I buy crabs no chance for a second dish due to financial challenge. Crabs are always good in any dish.
I have not joined an LP in a while…argh. I am feeling the backlog feeling…darn :(
Your torta sounds delicious…I really like when people use leftover in a torta, omelet, or frittata because I love eggs :) My cousin does the flipping with a plate move when she makes tortilla de patata…I have yet to master it, although my mom does have a “cheater’s pan”…
I have 2 left over recycled dishes but they aren’t Filipino in any way shape or form :( Sigh…next LP!
How timely to read your crab frittata! Just had some leftover from a huge Norwegian crab (bought as ready-to-eat, and eaten cold in Northern Europe). The crab was bursting with yummy orange fat. Ate this with roasted sourdough bread and home-made mayonnaise, like an open-faced sandwich. Super!
Would definitely use your recipe for brunch this weekend. Exactly to my liking.
Btw, I love your fruit bowl, is it faince?
Rowi, no not a faience bowl, just a moderately priced ceramic bowl that is great for creme brulees or other such concoctions… I do like the color though. Joey, I know what you mean…sometimes I have the raw materials, just can’t get it together by deadline time… LAFANG/Mike, thanks for updating the roundup so quickly, sorry for being so LATE! Ihid, a video of the high wire would be amusing…especially if it plops onto the kitchen floor!
MM, making tortas out of leftovers has always been one of my favourite “recycling” exercises! I was gonna have crab torta as one of my entries but didn’t quite perfect it. Thanks for joining Lasang Pinoy 15 . . . and as they say, “huli man daw at magaling, maihahabol din.” So, Joey, there’s still time . . . MM, Joey, will update you on future events . . .
torta – a great way to be creative and hide a multitude of leftovers… sarap!
Wow Torta! Recycled or not,this is one of my olde time favourite dish! MM,yours just looks perfect…..as usual!
Have a fun weekend!
crabmeat! crabmeat! crabmeat! what a treat! what a treat! what a treat! good to eat! good to eat! good to eat!
This really happens when I see crabmeat torta. My system flips out and scream in triplicate.
The old-fashioned (da best)way to make Torta: Line a plate with a round-piece of banana leaf; spread filling up to about an inch off the edge of the leaf; then slide the leaf-and-filling onto a lightly buttered or oiled kawali. Cook over medium heat. When done, slide back leaf-and-filling onto plate, top with another round of banana leaf; cover with another plate; flip plates; remove top plate and seared banana leaf; then slide the new leaf-and-filling onto pan. Cook until done. Torta cooked this way is fragrant, subtly smoky from the seared banana leaf.
We were never lucky to have left-over crabs. They would always be wiped out! So my mom would make them from scratch, that is, she would buy crabs just to make crab omelet – my absolute fav!
How about rellenong crab in it’s shell? Is the recipe is the same as torta only that it’s deep fried? Can recycle leftover steamed crab this way too.
lojet et al, I have a great post/recipe for rellenong crab/alimasag/alimango here.
Wow! that’s even more impressive MM, thanks.
Perfect torta!!! yummmmm…
Crab cakes, crab meat sushi, crab salad (on it’s own, in a sourdough roll), crab meat on a pasta sauce…. Add the torta to the list. What yummy variations on a theme.