Common name: Blue king crab

Japanese name: Aburagani (油蟹)

Scientific name: Paralithodes platypus (Brandi,1850)

Nigiri sushi detail: Blue king crab (Aburagani) Nigiri sushi

Characteristics:

Blue king crab (Aburagani) is distributed in the Sea of Japan, Bering Sea, and Sea of Okhotsk. Its carapace width is about 20 cm, which is slightly smaller than that of the King crab (Tarabagani). It looks similar to the Tarabagani, but has a bluish-purple body color.

The fishing season for Aburagani is long, from January to June, while Tarabagani is from April to May and November to December.

Aburagani is slightly more watery and slightly less sweet than Tarabagani. Female Aburagani have a better taste than male Aburagani, and are generally boiled and used as sushi material. It also has the disadvantage of losing its flavor after a few days.

Aburagani was once a problem in 2002 when Tarabagani was disguised as Tarabagani. It is mainly imported from Russia.

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