San Francisco Chronicle (zz-6) FOOD 5

THE FISHMONGER
Soft-Shell Crabs Deserve A Delicate Treatment

by JAY HARLOW
Special to The Chronicle

Summertime around Chesapeake Bay means crab season, especially soft-shell crab season. These seasonal treat are available now through September, and while they can be a bit pricey out here, they are a delicacy not to be missed.

Blue crabs hibernate in the winter months, but come spring, they resume swimming and growing. At some point the existing shell becomes too small, so the crab breaks its way out and sets about growing a new and larger one. Left to its own, the skin absorbs calcium and other minerals from the salt water and becomes shell again.

If, however, the crab is caught and transferred to fresh water, it cannot harden and stays a soft shell. Commercial soft-shell crab harvesting consists of spotting crabs that are about to molt ("busters") among the overall blue crab catch and holding them in fresh water tanks until the molt.

Ble crabs are found from New Jersey to Mexico, but most of the commercial soft-shell production comes from Chesapeake Bay. By the time they get out here, they are not cheap; figure to pay at least $2.50 per crab, and allow two crabs each for an entree or one per person as a first course.

Today's recipe comes from my favorite new Asian restaurant, Mama Lan's in Berkeley. "Mama" Lan Huynh cooked for many years at Gertie's Chesapeake Cafe, and has now opened her own Vietnamese restaurant. Not surprisingly, Chesapeake crabs and other East Coast seafood show up regularly on the menu.

According to Mama Lan, the rich, buttery sauces favored by many Americans on shellfish are not to the Vietnamese taste. Instead, she prefers a fat-free but very flavorful dipping sauce  that is simply highly seasoned lemon juice.
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Bay Area resident Jay Harlow is the author of "Jay Harlow's Beer Cuisine"
(Harlow & Ratner) and "Shrimp" (Chronicle Books).