Candied Crab Legs

A salty-sweet delicacy

Candied crab legs are a speciality in Port Haven, a coastal city in northern Serukis and the seat of the High Lord Vaifale. Made by baking crab legs coated in sugar, these sweet and salty treats are most popular during the ten days of the city's Bounty of the Sea festival.

History

Though it is impossible to prove, the tale of the invention of candied crab legs is a popular one. It is said that in 5023 EA, the young Bastien Vaifale, son and heir of Jacen, the then High Lord Vaifale, was particularly angry with his father. A widower, High Lord Vaifale had recently got remarried and, to the ten-year-old boy, this was unforgiveable. It felt as though his mother was being replaced with a woman he barely knew.
Jacen Vaifale had planned a magnificent banquet to celebrate his new bride, with a lavish menu of the seafood Port Haven was so famous for. During the preparation for this feast, the young boy snuck into the kitchen and replaced a bowl of salt with a bowl of sugar, just before it was sprinkled over a large tray of crab legs.
During the banquet, Jacen Vaifale noticed the difference in the crab legs straight away, and immediately suspected his wayward son. However, before he could reprimand the boy or command for the crab legs to be taken away, his new wife exclaimed how delicious and exotic the dish was. The sentiment was echoed throughout his court, and so candied crab legs have been a staple of Port Haven cuisine from then on. The cooks, however, have become much better at guarding their kitchen from the sabotage of small boys; it has become somewhat of a tradition for the young heirs of the Vaifale family to sneak into the kitchen to tamper with the food.

Variations

Candied crab legs are often made with honey, as it is more easily acquired and less expensive than beet sugar. However, some argue that crab legs made this way are honeyed and therefore not true candied crab legs. Most people do not differentiate.
Some chefs, particularly those that work for noble families, also experiment by adding different mixtures of spices to the sugar with varying success.

by TRAPHITHO

Recipe

Ingredients

1lb legs from the grey crab
20g sugar or honey
Spices (optional)

Method

1) Arrange the crab legs on a large metal tray.
2) Sprinkle generously with the sugar and (optional) spices.
3) Bake in the oven until the crab legs are fully cooked.
4) Serve hot and sticky.