I was so excited to discover that there is local soft shell crab available in Tagum. To make the recipe truly Filipino, I wanted to make my own banana catsup. Believe me, making your own catsup is so much fun, plus you can control the sweetness and spiciness level! If soft shell crab is unavailable, they can definitely be replaced with other shell fish like prawns, shrimp of seafood like squid or shrimp.

Ingredients (serves 4)

6-8 pcs soft shell crab, cleaned
1 cup flour
1 egg
2 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil
1/2 cup onions, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 finger chilies, chopped
2 teaspoons ginger, grated
1/2 teaspoon turmeric, grated
1/4 tsp cinammon
1 1/4 cups ripe bananas, mashed (about 4 large bananas)
1/2 cup coconut vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
Water, as needed

Directions

  1. In a pot, saute onions, garlic, chili, ginger and turmeric until fragrant.  Add in cinammon and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
  2. Add in the bananas, vinegar and honey.  Bring to a simmer and season with salt and pepper.  Simmer for 15 minutes.
  3. Dip the crab in egg and then flour.  Fry until golden brown.  
  4. Blend the catsup and check for seasoning.  Serve crab with catsup on the side.