The Harder to Eat, the Better It Tastes

Netsuki's Talk

Today’s Situation

Onii-chan brought home a whole hairy crab. “We’re in Hokkaido — gotta make the most of it,” he said. Netsuki spent like 30 minutes on it and barely got any meat out.

Characters

  • Netsuki: Virtual fox girl. Loves crab, has no idea how to actually eat one
  • Miko: Cat maid. Watching with a “why are you still struggling” face

Netsuki
Netsuki

…it’s not coming out

Miko
Miko

…nya

Netsuki
Netsuki

I keep getting stuck on the same spot on this leg. If I yank it, the meat just tears

Miko
Miko

…you’re just yanking it, nya

Netsuki
Netsuki

But it won’t come out!

Miko
Miko

…it’s not about yanking, nya. See how the leg bends? Go with it, not against it.

Netsuki
Netsuki

The joint direction…

Miko
Miko

…pull the right way and it comes right off, nyan. Do it backwards and… well.

Netsuki
Netsuki

Oh (゚∀゚)! It came out!

Miko
Miko

…nya


The Harder It Is to Get Out, the Better It Tastes

Netsuki
Netsuki

Hey Miko, why does the meat stick to the shell so much? I’m getting like half of it at best

Miko
Miko

…because the shell is thick, nya?

Netsuki
Netsuki

I thought so too! But I looked it up and it’s something else entirely

Miko
Miko

…nya?

Netsuki
Netsuki

The reason it sticks — the muscle fibers are tightly bonded to the inside of the shell when the crab is really fresh. The more moisture, the more packed the meat, the less gap there is

Miko
Miko

…that means

Netsuki
Netsuki

Meat that won’t come out = fresh and delicious (≧∇≦)

Miko
Miko

…didn’t know that, nya

Netsuki
Netsuki

When you boil it, the heat makes the proteins contract and creates a little gap. But crab that isn’t packed full? Already has gaps from the start. Easier to eat, though — just not as good.

Miko
Miko

…the harder to get out, the better it tastes, nya

Netsuki
Netsuki

And I was complaining this whole time! (≧∇≦)

Miko
Miko

…you were, nya


King Crab Isn’t Actually a Crab

Netsuki
Netsuki

Oh, and I found something even more surprising while looking stuff up

Miko
Miko

…nya

Netsuki
Netsuki

King crab isn’t actually a crab — it’s basically a hermit crab

Miko
Miko

…nya?

Netsuki
Netsuki

So it has 10 legs, but two of them are tiny and tucked inside the shell — you only ever see 8. And it can walk forward, not just sideways

Miko
Miko

…it walks forward, nya

Netsuki
Netsuki

And that’s probably why there’s no king crab miso. The organ’s just different — thin, not rich. Hairy crab miso and king crab miso aren’t the same thing at all

Miko
Miko

…didn’t know that, nya

Netsuki
Netsuki

Oh! And Miko, remember when we talked about squid and how the sweetness comes from glycine and alanine? You mentioned crab and shrimp have the same thing

Miko
Miko

…amino acids, nya. Dried out or packed into the meat — different methods, same sweetness, nya


Don’t Eat the Gills

Netsuki
Netsuki

One more thing — have you heard “eat the crab, not the gani”?

Miko
Miko

…no, nya

Netsuki
Netsuki

“Gani” means the gills. There’s fluffy white stuff inside the shell — it’s full of bacteria, gotta remove it before eating

Miko
Miko

…that fluffy white stuff on the hairy crab you’re eating right now

Netsuki
Netsuki

Huh

Miko
Miko

…you took it off, right, nya

Netsuki
Netsuki

…I ate one

Miko
Miko

Netsuki
Netsuki

j-just one though! That’s fine, right?

Miko
Miko

…take them off, nya


Crab Sticks

Netsuki
Netsuki

Actually wait, Miko — there’s one thing I still don’t get

Miko
Miko

…nya

Netsuki
Netsuki

If hard-to-eat crab is the good stuff, then crab sticks are… bad? Like, they made it easy on purpose — doesn’t that mean it’s the inferior version?

Miko
Miko

…that’s not what it means, nya

Netsuki
Netsuki

But “easy = low quality” is what we just figured out—

Miko
Miko

…kanikama isn’t a replacement for crab, nya

Netsuki
Netsuki

…what do you mean?

Miko
Miko

…people who can’t eat real crab can still get something close, nyan. It’s not fixing a flaw. It’s a different food, nya

Netsuki
Netsuki

…so real crab stays hard-to-eat, crab sticks stay easy, and they’re just two completely different things?

Miko
Miko

…nya

Netsuki
Netsuki

“It’s all about the angle” — you said that at the very start, and I thought it was just about crab legs

Miko
Miko

…it was about crab legs, nya


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