Tomatitas is a tiny, tiny, tiny town a short bus ride from Tarija.
The reason to go to Tomatitas is to try cangrejos.
What are Cangrejos?
Cangrejos are tiny crabs that you eat whole.
I am all about experiencing new food when I travel, but I was a little nervous about this.
I wasn’t sure if I could go through with it. I mean, you’re eating the whole thing…. shell, eyeballs, brains (crabs do have tiny little brains, right?).
So in order to build up the nerve to eat this dish, I decided to have a little fun.
And yes, I did eventually stop playing with my food and eat these tiny crabs.
All of them except this guy… he was just too big, and it creeped me out.
XD they look so cute, I don’t think I can eat them! (although creepy at the same time because it reminds me of the fried tarantula that some southeastern Asian countries serve)
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Are they similar to soft shell crabs?
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Only had soft shell crabs once, but I think they are similar. The biggest difference is you eat the whole thing in one bite because these are so tiny. And I think they look a little more “raw” and “alive” than soft shell crabs.
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OMG – hysterical. They were doing the cha cha cha
Imagine what the people at the next table thought of the crazy girl sitting alone posing her food and taking photos. It probably would have gotten much more ridiculous if I was with someone, and we could egg each other on.
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Would never be able to eat these, I am the least adventurous eater on the planet!
Oh wow, I didn’t realize these ones are eaten whole! Err, not sure I want their little claws in my mouth.
p.s. That arcade game in the corner with the half-clad woman really adds to the feel of the place… 😉 haha
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I didn’t even notice that arcade game because you see half-clad women on posters/ advertisements all over Latin America.
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Hey there, I love food and I love trying new foods -I’d eat anything! That said, I don’t eat meat anymore -seafood is still on the plate, though, and only about a month ago I was told to try to eat prawns with the shell (without the head, but with feet and tail). I gave it a go, and it was surprisingly good (and less work;))! But in your photos the little fellas look like little crab people living their little crab life in potato-land and now in my head are called little Crab-Rudi and Lola, and this would make it really hard to eat them:( I could possibly overcome that emotion, though…
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The trick when you play with your food is not to give them names
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They look a little like the Balmain Bug from Australia. Yum!
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The fact that you think of a bug and then say “Yum” is a little weird
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LOL. Come to think of it, I like Louisiana “Mudbugs” too.
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Can’t help but wonder: congrejos, with ‘O’?
You’re right! I spelled it wrong. It is cangrejos. I never looked it up and just spelled it the way I heard it
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Woh. That truly looks like a daring dish. Eating anything still alive (I include sushi in this category since it’s so raw, it could still be living!) is always a big issue for me so this would not make it into any cultural exploration for me but it looks like an unforgettable experience. Were the shells really crunchy and did the claws wiggle as you chewed? I’m a picky eater so lots of food makes me hesitate but I believe in trying local cuisine wherever I travel. I hesitated in Brazil with trying the national dish of feoijoada, which contains “every part of the pig” including tails and feet. Since I don’t eat red meat, I snagged a veggie version which was delicious but not very authentic.
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The shells were a little crunchy, but there were no wiggling claws.
There was one I didn’t eat because he was quite large, and I think the size of the claws freaked me out a little, along with the fact that I couldn’t put the whole thing in my mouth.
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I was thinking of soft shell crabs too…I guess I’d give these guys a go! I hesitated trying tongue. I ended up trying it in a burrito in San Francisco, and it was fine, but the visual of a cow tongue cross-section on my plate at Rodolfo’s grandma’s house just really turned me off.
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I thought about trying tongue in Bolivia. Then I decided that was probably not the best place to try it after seeing it laid out on the butcher table at the local markets.
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Hmm, I’m not sure if I’d want to eat this! I’ve actually tried quite a few strange things on my travels that scared me including crickets in Mexico, but those were small, deep fried, and covered with lime and chili so they weren’t too recognizable. This looks too much like crab, haha. How did they taste?
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The taste was okay. Not bad but nothing to write home about. It’s more of a novelty experience in my opinion.
Eating insects freaks me out, and I haven’t gotten that adventurous yet.
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What a yummy and delicious food you eat. It’s been a long time that I haven’t eat crab and you make me now want to eat delicious recipe of a crab.
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Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to play with your food? Maybe it was just my parents. It seems to me if what’s on your plate still looks exactly like the live animal, playing with it will make it feel like a pet rather than a meal and that will make it so much harder to eat.
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I had not really thought about it that way, but your theory makes sense. Now I’m remembering childhood friends that had little crabs as pets, and I am feeling a little guilty
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Wow, by just looking the crabs you make me yearning to eat delicious recipes of crabs. I really love eating crabs. In fact, when I did travel I really don’t miss eating delectable recipes of crabs that the places have. However, it is not good to play the foods.
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Whoa, I’m not sure I could’ve eaten those! What were they like? They look really crunchy and hard.
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They were a little crunch but not difficult to eat at all. If they were hard, I wouldn’t have been able to make it through the plate.
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Great post! Can’t say a food has ever made me hesitate.
With a website called The Wandering Gourmand, I assume you are quite an adventurous eater
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They look like a mix of a tiny lobster and a crab! I have tried myself several strange foods like haggis (a concoction of entrails contained in a sheep stomach) in Scotland, rakfisk (fermented fish in a sauce) and smalahove (smoked sheep head) in Norway my home country and a mocoto pie (it’s a pie made of seasoned hooves jelly delicious as it sounds like) in Brazil
It is really bad to play the foods. However, your foods are so yummy and delicious. For sure if I will have that foods today for sure my stomach will get full since crabs and lobsters are my favorite.
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