Mole Crab Poppers

After watching a episode of Bizarre Foods from Thailand I saw these folks were consuming mole crabs aka sand fleas. In the Treasure Coast we have them in abundance and if you have the right equipment and a little technique gathering a few is a cinch. These little crustaceans are typically used as bait for tasty surf zone fish such as pompano, whiting and the like. Turns out they are not just pompano candy but a tasty snack for anyone that enjoys seafood. Cleaning them is a matter of running them under cold water in a collander and removing a small appendage they use to dig into the sand. First you twist the little tail off and give them a gentle squeeze to coax out any remaining grit (ie poop) they have in their bodies. Rinse one more time then dredge them in a combination of corn starch, salt and a little powdered garlic. You can add other spices to the mix but our first batch we went minimalist to preserve the authentic taste of the "fleas". I used a deep fryer set to the highest temp setting. Wait till they float, remove and allow them to cool some. Dip in any sauce you like and crunch and munch. We set out regular cocktail sauce and a grated ginger thai style sauce.

Don't worry about the shell and feet when fried they become very crunchy like "tater" chips and the taste of the crab meat and roe is what you taste. Being reduced to eating the bait might sometimes be seen as the sign of a bad fisherman but at least your not hungry. Enjoy!

No they can not bite you. The only part they (and I) removed was the "telson" as denoted in your diagram. This little appendage is used to dig in the sand and also covers their roe. It looks like a little triangular tail. About their size some are 1 1/2" to 1 3/4" and they can also be tiny. I stuck to the bigger ones and cut loose any smaller than 1". In that telson you can see the mud vein and after removing it if you squeeze the body just a tad the rest of the mud comes out.. In Maine and other NE states they serve a small Atlantic shrimp that is tiny compared to our standards...like a salad shrimp. All they do is remove the head (sometimes even this is left on) ,dredge and then fry whole. In the show about the fleas they also said they served them tempura style but personally I just as soon have them with less fried dough attached to them. With the only cost associated with the fleas being your time it makes for a great and unusual snack.

PS in sushi if you request a "amaebi" aka sweet shrimp/fresh water prawn they serve you the body raw on a ball of rice and the head separate deep fried in the same manner as the fleas. They normally serve this head with a side of ponzu sauce to dip into. Some folks are intimidated by the horn and eyes peering back at you but there is no doubt after trying it that some of the best taste resides in the head...when I ask for amaebi I am really asking for this part....I don't really enjoy the texture or taste of raw shrimp.

Mole crabs are collected using a sand flea rake. The rake is more like a wire mesh lined basket with a handle attached. You use it to scoop up the layer of sand they are dug into then use the backwash of the surf to filter/wash out the sand. What is left is the larger bits of shells and the fleas. When looking for fleas it is preferable to hunt in areas that have natural sand beaches which have large diameter particles made up of shell pieces. The fleas prefer this natural shell sand to the powdery imported or dredged sand usually seen in south Florida beaches. I have never seen a sand flea any further south than Boca and generally no further south in any concentration south of Palm Beach. I would not guarantee there are none there I have just not seen them.

Also when looking for them you are not going for the little holes you see in the surf (those are usually ghost crab holes)...you should be looking for shoals of them on the shoreline. They will appear as bunches of V shaped disturbances in the sand visible when the waves leave a very thin layer of water as they recede. These V shapes are their food collecting antenna being exposed as they try to strain out what they eat out of the water. They move in groups and if you stand where the waves meet the beach you can look to parallel to the shore and notice what seem like shaded areas in the skim....those are fleas. You will get up to a dozen or more per good rake....work the edges of these groups....the more you work them...the more they will scatter....fall back...or dig down deep until eventually you have to look for a new group to target.

Found some pics that illustrate my previous post. Also great news....turns out Ft Laudy has fleas....just checked a surf fishing forum I frequent and they get them there regularly. Here are some pics of sand flea pods and some of some sand flea rakes. BTW I am sure bass pro has these for sale and if you are handy making one should not be that tough. Hope these help

Sorry to hear about your shellfish allergy. While I wouldn't consider myself full blown allergic to shellfish I do display a certain reaction when eating shellfish that has passed it's prime. For me it is also the iodine and to some degree the ammonia that develops in shellfish if it is more than a day or two old. Have to be careful about these type of allergies as they worsen with each case you suffer and many times food borne allergies make one sleepy. Some people lay down for what they think is a slumber caused by overindulgence and never wake up....scary stuff. I can usually tell if I am experiencing a reaction as I tend to swell and my fingers feel like a blown up rubber glove and the back of my neck feels like I am smuggling a pack of hot dogs. So far a mild antihistamine and bronchiodialator stave off any major problems when affected but for me the best practice has been to shun everything except the most fresh shellfish available.