Sawagani (Japanese Soft-shell Freshwater Crabs)

Sawagani is a species of freshwater crabs found throughout Japan. They are about the size of a potato chip, and when fried, are delightfully similar in texture, as well. Their flavor is fresh and crisp, like a concentrated variation of soft shelled crab, and they are often consumed like popcorn shrimp as an otsumami, a bar snack, fried and garnished with lemon and salt. The whole crab is edible in one bite, with the exterior crunch of the shell juxtaposed against the buttery, unctuous interior.  Japanese freshwater crabs can also be prepared in the spirit of moeche, an Italian dish named after the soft shelled crabs found in and around Venice. This region has an entrenched tradition in which the local fishermen, molecanti, carefully monitor the waters in the spring and the fall, when the crabs molt, or shed their hard exterior shells. Once molting, there is a brief window of only a few hours before the crabs’ new shells will harden. Once caught, the crabs are washed, dipped in eggs and