Mud Crab
Also known as：Serrated mud crab, red mud crab
Scylla serrata
- Origin
- Guangdong, Guangxi, Zhejiang
- Season
- Jun–Dec
- Appearance
- Smooth green carapace without tubercles, serrated front side margins, large clawless-fuzz chelae; broad flat body; commercial sizes mostly 3 liang to 1 jin.
Content compiled by the Xian Mancang team
Introduction
品种介绍Mud crab lives in mangrove and estuarine mudflats of China's southeast coast — Guangdong, Guangxi and Zhejiang lead production. Sweet flesh and full golden roe earn it the title 'sea ginseng.'
Season Jun–Dec, mainly live — the popular sea crab of southern banquets and homes.
Holding Environment
暂养环境Xian Mancang holding advisor: temperature, salinity, water quality and density references per species — feel free to exchange holding experience.
Hold at 20–28°C, salinity 15–28‰ (estuarine brackish water ideal), DO ≥4 mg/L, sandy-mud substrate, density 8–15 kg per cubic meter.
Hold 3–7 days; isolate to prevent cannibalism; band during transport. Parameters above are reference values — adjust to water quality and season.
Economic Value
经济价值Priced by size and appearance: ordinary sizes move in volume; molting-stage 'double-skin crab' and fattened roe females ('roe crab') carry marked premiums. Live supply to Cantonese dining and seafood markets; southern demand is strong; the fattened female is called 'red crab' in Fujian and Taiwan — a stable holiday gift.
Culinary & Commercial Use
烹饪与商业用途Steamed and scallion-ginger baked are classics; Chaoshan cooks make raw marinated 'drunken-style' mud crab; roe-crab claypot and crab congee are famous Cantonese-Min dishes.
Foodservice: a standing item of Cantonese restaurants and Chaoshan cuisine; drunken crab and crab paste extend the product line.
Buying Guide
选购指南Live crabs: vitality and glossy green shell; roe crabs: full umbilicus with translucent red shell seams. Firm pressed legs and satisfying heft mean full meat. Mud crabs survive only briefly out of water — cook promptly or hold cold; dead crabs are inedible. Round umbilicus = female, pointed = male.
Market Reference
规格行情Reference price: live 30–80 CNY/jin by size and roe grade; roe crabs carry premiums. Season runs summer to early winter with holiday rises; 'double-skin' crabs sell per piece with a short season — buy in the window.
Mud Crab · FAQs
How do I pick the freshest Mud Crab?
Live crabs: vitality and glossy green shell; roe crabs: full umbilicus with translucent red shell seams. Firm pressed legs and satisfying heft mean full meat. Mud crabs survive only briefly out of water — cook promptly or hold cold; dead crabs are inedible. Round umbilicus = female, pointed = male.
What are the live-holding requirements for Mud Crab?
Hold at 20–28°C, salinity 15–28‰ (estuarine brackish water ideal), DO ≥4 mg/L, sandy-mud substrate, density 8–15 kg per cubic meter.
What is the current market price of Mud Crab?
Reference price: live 30–80 CNY/jin by size and roe grade; roe crabs carry premiums. Season runs summer to early winter with holiday rises; 'double-skin' crabs sell per piece with a short season — buy in the window.
How do I cook Mud Crab? What methods work best?
Steamed and scallion-ginger baked are classics; Chaoshan cooks make raw marinated 'drunken-style' mud crab; roe-crab claypot and crab congee are famous Cantonese-Min dishes.
Mud Crab · For stock availability and holding consultation, contact us