Talangka

In Philippine cuisine, talangka is a tiny crab whose red fat is squeezed out and salted.

To fill one small jar with fat requires the meticulous shelling and picking of hundreds of these tiny crabs.

Caught in the nipa swamps of Bulacan are small fat crabs called damuko. They are salted and cooked in tuba (nipa wine) in a clay pot. Just before serving, the inside of the palayok is flamed in order to remove the sour taste of the liquor. The damuko has a sweetish flavor, with a hint of alcohol, and even the plump tiny claws can be cracked and eaten.

Scientific name: Varuna litterata