Tacos de jaiba
Tacos de jaiba are tacos filled with crab, usually the blue swimming crab of Mexico's Gulf coast prepared as a salpicón or sautéed hash, or, in newer restaurant versions, a whole fried soft-shell crab.
Overview
Jaiba is the Mexican name for swimming crabs related to the blue crab of the United States. In Mexico they are tied above all to the Gulf coast. In Tampico, Tamaulipas, crab is such a local emblem that people born there are informally nicknamed jaibas, and the city's seafood restaurants serve crab in soups, cocktails, ceviches, stuffed shells and the hash called salpicón. Further south, the cook and writer Zarela Martínez first ate a crab salpicón in Tlacotalpan, Veracruz, made with jaibas from the Papaloapan river system.
The filling
Salpicón de jaiba is the usual base for crab tacos and tostadas. The Tampico version described by Mexico in My Kitchen sautés onion and celery in oil, adds cooked crabmeat and serrano chile for just a few minutes, then finishes it with cilantro; a richer variant adds tomato, olives and capers in the manner of a Veracruz sauce. Martínez's cold version instead binds lump crab with olive oil and a little mayonnaise, tomato, onion, capers, thyme, cilantro and avocado, and chills it before serving. Both are most often piled on small tostadas, but the same mixture is commonly spooned into soft tortillas as tacos.
Soft-shell crab tacos
Restaurants have also adopted whole soft-shell crab as a taco filling. A 2019 food blog from San Miguel de Allende described a taco de jaiba at Antonia Bistro made with lightly battered and sautéed soft-shell crab, herbed mayonnaise, avocado purée and sliced serrano, and a tempura-fried crab taco on a flour tortilla with red cabbage and pico de gallo at the rooftop bar of Atrio.
Serving
Crab tacos and tostadas are generally eaten as a starter in a marisquería or as a light meal. Tostadas are the more traditional vehicle in Tampico and Veracruz, and Martínez recommends keeping them small, no more than about 7 cm across, so the crab does not spill; in a soft taco the same filling is easier to manage. Lime, avocado and a fresh chile salsa are the usual accompaniments.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 450 g cooked crabmeat, picked over for shell
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3/4 cup finely diced white onion
- 1/2 cup finely diced celery
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 cup finely diced tomato
- 1 serrano chile, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- Salt and black pepper
- 8 corn tortillas
- 1 avocado, sliced
- Lime wedges
Steps
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion, celery and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add the tomato and serrano and cook until the tomato releases its juice and thickens slightly, about 6 minutes.
- Add the crabmeat and stir gently for 3 to 5 minutes, just until hot; overcooking toughens it.
- Remove from the heat, fold in the cilantro and season with salt and pepper.
- Warm the tortillas, fill with the crab and top with avocado. Serve with lime.
Chopped pimento-stuffed olives and capers can be added with the crab for a Gulf-style salpicón.
Where to try it
- Antonia Bistro, San Miguel de Allende: Soft-shell crab taco described in a 2019 food blog.
Reviews
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See also
References
- "Jaiba salpicón (crab salpicón)". Mexico in My Kitchen. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "Hashed Crab Tostadas (Tostadas de jaiba)". Zarela Martínez. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "Soft shell crab, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico". Julia Eats. Retrieved 2026-10-10.