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Preparation
30 minutes
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Processing
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Shrimp Paste For 4 people
Shrimp 3 kg Alum 2 teaspoons Coarse salt 0.5 kg Salty water 2 liters (sea water)
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose fresh ba khía
- First, try breaking a claw of the ba khía; if you find it full of meat, it means it is of good quality, but if it is empty, it indicates that the ba khía is “skinny” (thin, little meat).
- You should choose those ba khía that are still carrying eggs, as they are the most flavorful.
- The best time for ba khía is during the rainy season (around the 8th – 10th lunar month), so you can choose this time to buy them for cooking.
- You should not choose large ba khía because the smaller ones tend to have more red roe, making them richer and their shells softer, while the meat is firmer.
What is alum? Where to buy it?
- Alum is a type of sulfate salt with unevenly sized crystals, usually colorless, transparent white, or slightly cloudy. Alum (also known as white alum) is produced through a heating process.
- You can find alum for purchase directly at dry goods stores in markets or various grocery stores. These places have powdered alum, flake alum, distilled alum, and block alum. Alternatively, you can also order online from e-commerce websites.
-800x450-1.jpg "Delicious and Flavorful Ba Khía Fermentation Recipe - Authentic Taste of the Mekong Delta 2")
Tools needed
How to make Mắm ba khía
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Wash ba khía
Wash the ba khía thoroughly with water.
Next, add about 2 liters of seawater into a container, and add 0.5kg of coarse salt.
Then, add 3kg of ba khía into the seawater and let the ba khía soak in the salt for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, take the ba khía out and let it drain in a basket.
Tip: To preserve Mắm ba khía for a long time, you should wash it thoroughly and then dry the jar and lid.
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Let the saltwater settle
Add 2 teaspoons of alum into the seawater you just used to soak the ba khía, and stir well.
Use a small cup to skim the foam from the surface of the water in the container, and continue stirring. Then, let it sit for 5 minutes for the water to settle.
The water that settles at the bottom of the container should have a natural brown color. After about 5 minutes, use a cloth filter to strain the clear water.
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Making Fish Sauce
After draining the crab, place them in a jar that has been thoroughly dried.
Next, pour the filtered clear water into the plastic jar with the crabs arranged inside, seal it tightly, and store it in a cool place.
You can use the crab fish sauce after 4 – 5 days.
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Final Product
The jar of crab fish sauce is completed, bringing the salty and fatty flavor from the crab, very delicious and unique. Crab fish sauce served with hot rice is unbeatable. Wishing you a good meal!
What is Ba Khía?
- Ba khía is a species of crab with large claws, a type of marine crab, named for having three stripes (khía) on its back (carapace).
- Ba khía is small in size, has many stripes (red stripes and gray mud stripes), and has firm meat (when breaking the claw, the meat does not stick to the claw). The best Ba khía is the one that is carrying eggs.
- Ba khía usually lives in brackish and salty mudflats, under dense mangrove trees. Ba khía is most commonly found in the brackish mudflats of Cà Mau and Bạc Liêu provinces.
How to Successfully Prepare and Preserve Ba Khía Ferment
- Ferment Ba khía for 4 – 5 days for the flavors to infuse, and the meat to be fragrant, then it can be enjoyed immediately.
- According to the experience of Cà Mau people, if Ba khía is kept whole in a jar with brine, it can last from 6 – 8 months without spoiling.
- However, for Ba khía that has been “moved,” meaning it has been relocated, it should not be preserved in brine anymore. Instead, store them in the freezer of the refrigerator, where it can be kept for about 3 months.
So, through the simple steps that Điện Máy XANH just guided, you can make yourself a jar of mắm ba khía delicious and authentic to the specialty of the Mekong Delta. Hope you will love and successfully make this rich dish with the characteristic salty and fatty flavor from ba khía.
*Refer to the images and recipe from the YouTube channel Học Nấu Ăn.
