Caranguejada
Thursday night is crab night in Fortaleza: the beach shacks along Praia do Futuro fill up for the quinta do caranguejo, and tables are covered in whole crabs, wooden mallets and bowls of broth. The crabs are boiled in a spiced broth of tomato, onion, peppers, coconut milk and plenty of coriander, then cracked open by hand, the sweet meat dipped back into the broth and eaten with pirão and lime. Mangrove crabs are used in Ceará; blue crabs or brown crabs work well elsewhere. Crabs must be alive and lively when you buy them, or bought frozen raw or ready-cooked from a fishmonger; never cook a raw crab that has died. The big mistake is under-salting the broth, which leaves the meat bland; it should taste like well-seasoned soup. Chef's tip: chill live crabs in the freezer for about an hour before cooking so they are completely still and insensible, then scrub them well.




