Akotonshi (Stuffed Crab)
Overview
Akotonshi is stuffed crab, and in Ghana it is feast food. Large fresh blue or red crabs are cooked whole, the meat picked out and mixed with a heavily spiced tomato and pepper base, then packed back into the cleaned shells, topped with breadcrumbs and browned under heat. The spicing is what marks it as Ghanaian rather than a generic stuffed crab. Nutmeg, cumin, cloves and thyme go in alongside dried shrimp and African bird peppers, and grains of paradise appear in some versions. Grains of paradise, Aframomum melegueta, is a West African spice related to cardamom that gave the Guinea coast its old European name, the Grain Coast, and its presence here is a marker of the region rather than a flourish. It is a dish for occasions. Ghanaians associate it with public celebrations and family gatherings rather than with everyday cooking, partly because fresh crab bought from local fishermen is not an everyday purchase. The crab shells serve as the serving vessel, which is much of its appeal at a table, and ramekins do the job when whole crabs are not available.
AFN Heritage Note
Akotonshi is a Ghanaian stuffed crab dish associated with celebrations and feasting, seasoned with dried shrimp, African bird peppers and grains of paradise, Aframomum melegueta, a West African spice.
Ingredients
Dietary tags are provided by contributors as a guide, not verified by AFN, and they depend on the products you buy. If you have a serious allergy, check every ingredient yourself. Cooking, allergies and your own judgement
Directions
- 1
If cooking whole crabs, clean them and bring a large pot of water to the boil.
- 2
Add the fresh ginger and cloves to the water along with the crab, and cook for 15 minutes.
- 3
Remove the crabs, pick out the meat and keep the shells for serving.
- 4
If using ready cooked crab meat instead, mix it with a quarter cup of water that has been boiled with the ginger and cloves for 15 minutes, then drain, flake the meat and set it aside.
- 5
In a heavy pot, heat the oil to a medium temperature and add the remaining ingredients in this order, stirring for a minute or so between each: onions, ground ginger, tomatoes, tomato paste, green pepper, cumin, nutmeg, thyme, grains of paradise, paprika, minced peppers and dried shrimp.
- 6
Reduce the heat and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the vegetables are cooked.
- 7
Add the crab meat and stir for a couple of minutes to heat it through.
- 8
Spoon the mixture into the cleaned crab shells, or into ramekins.
- 9
Sprinkle breadcrumbs over each one and toast under a hot grill, watching carefully so the crumbs do not scorch.
- 10
Garnish with parsley and serve.
Africook’s Notes
Personal notes from Jennifer Ezeokoli- Add the ingredients in the order given, waiting a minute between each. It builds the base in layers, and tipping everything in together gives a flatter result.
- Watch the breadcrumbs under the grill constantly. They go from pale to burnt in well under a minute.
- Scrub the shells thoroughly before refilling them. They are the serving dish, not just a container.
- Pick the crab meat carefully for fragments of shell. It is tedious and it is the difference between a good dish and an unpleasant one.
- Grains of paradise is optional but worth finding. It is a West African spice, related to cardamom, and it is what makes the seasoning specifically regional.
Reviews
5 reviews
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I could only get dressed frozen crab meat from the fishmonger in Luton market so I skipped boiling whole shells, but boiling ginger and cloves in a bit of water to mix into the meat gave it that exact spicy aroma. My husband asked why I was making crab instead of our usual sadza and bream on Sunday haha but once he tasted the nutmeg and tomato paste mix stuffed back in, he ate three! Next time I will add even more ground ginger.
Lindiwe, that ginger and clove water hack is pure genius o! Sourcing whole fresh crab here in Minneapolis is no be small thing, so I also use frozen lump crab meat from the market. That nutmeg and tomato paste combo really carries the flavor anyway. Glad your husband abandoned the bream for it sha!
Boiling the crab with fresh ginger and cloves first completely removed that raw seafood smell. I added a bit more dried shrimp and minced pepper to the tomato paste when frying the onions. E sweet no be small thing! The nutmeg brings out a really nice warmth in the crab meat o.
That ginger and clove boil is spot on. I did the exact same, then added 2.5ml of Robertson's nutmeg directly into 100g of All Gold tomato paste while frying the onions. Absolutely lekker warmth! I even put the stuffed shells onto the braai grid for 5 minutes at the end to get a bit of smoky flavor into the crab.
Finding whole live crabs here in Minneapolis isn't easy unless you go to the Asian market on Nicollet, so I bought tubed lump crab meat instead. Boil the water with ginger root and cloves first before draining like you said sha, it makes a huge difference. I couldn't find grains of paradise so I just doubled the paprika and nutmeg. Cooked it for my family last night and the spice mix was perfect, whole house smelled so good.