A dish made from ba khia, a kind of crab unique to the Mekong Delta

Everyone is eating crabs in the Mekong Delta this month, so get down there if you love cracking open a few claws.

This medium-sized crab is found at salinity-intruded forests along the coast of Soc Trang, Bac Lieu and Ca Mau provinces. They look similar to field crabs with three stripes on their back, a pair of brown-red pincers, a slightly red belly, and eight legs with soft fur at the tips.

For the rest of this month, the three-stripe crab will be on the menu at most family tables in the Mekong Delta region. It is used to make different dishes, the most popular of which is salted crab mixed with chili, garlic, refined sugar, lemon juice and Vietnamese mint.

Three-striped crab dishes are so common that there are few people in the region who haven’t tried them.

If you’re going to Can Tho City, the biggest city in the region, don’t forget to enjoy three-stripe crab dishes on Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Street or the area in front of Cai Khe Trade Center on Hung Vuong Street. Restaurants serving them open at 5 p.m. every day. You can order ba khia rang me (crabs roasted with tamarind), ba khia luoc gung (crabs boiled with ginger), or ba khia hap bia (crabs steamed with beer). The dishes are made from fresh crabs and each has its own style and flavor.

Their meat is very sweet but dishes only cost VND25,000 (US$1.40) for a serving of five crabs.

Traditionally, salted three-striped crabs are eaten with rice but they are also eaten with grilled sweet potatoes in Can Tho. To enjoy the Can Tho-style dish, drop in at Song Que Restaurant at 8/9/53b Tran Phu St., Ninh Kieu District.

Perhaps nowhere in the Mekong Delta has as many dishes made from ba khia as Can Tho does and the crab is becoming more popular than ever before.

Reported by Diem Thu