This is the curacha. Curacha is the Chavano (a Spanish Pidgin dialect of Zamboanga City, Philippines) word to refer to this interesting creature. Curacha is an abbreviation of cucaracha a Spanish word to mean “cockroach” in English, “ipis” in Tagalog and “ok-ok” in my wonderful language the Cebuano-Bisaya.
Curacha is a crustacean that to most look like a marriage between a lobster and crab. To me it looks like a giant orange cockroach – a bug in a an orange shell. Its just ok-ok, but the yummiest ok-ok/cockroach in the world. By the way why is it called a “COCk”-roach?
Dining with this crustacean cockroach is the finest experience. I tell you. It taste better than any crustaceans I’ve had on the table. The curacha however can only be found in Jolo Archipelago and in the market of Zamboanga City in the Southern Philippines. It can cost about P250.00 owing to its rarity!
How to cook the curacha.
1. Steam it with water. It should be moderately done so as not to spoil its tender meat.
2. Ginataan. Stew it with 3-5 cups of coconut milk and ginger and spices. You can be creative on this. There is no limit with your imagination.
3. Sauced. I like it better when it is stewed with spices and red sauce – ketchup and tomato sauce.
How to eat:
To open the shell you can follow the same procedure eating crabs. To most Filipinos eating is not as delightful without dipping the meat in suka and/or toyo. Therefore you have to prepare your condiments as well. It is best with vinegar and soy sauce and hot pepper.
Have a grand curacha experience.
