Crab Fried Rice
Thai-style crab fried rice, Khao Pad Buu, is a great dish to cook when you have some leftover rice and crabmeat on hand. You can also substitute the crab with any number of proteins…shrimp, chicken, pork…almost anything would work. If you have the rice already cooked, this dish can come together in under 20 minutes from start to finish.
Ingredients
When it comes to making fried rice, the single most important variable to consider is the quality of the cooked rice. Rice that is overcooked or undercooked will yield an inferior product. For Thai style fried rice, be sure to use plain steamed jasmine rice as your starting point. You could use another style of rice if necessary, but the flavor of jasmine rice really complements the fish sauce and crabmeat. Do not use freshly cooked rice for stir-frying. Hot, fresh rice is too soft/moist and the resulting fried rice will likely be gummy and clump together. Use rice that has cooled down to room temperature or even refrigerator temperatures before stir-frying.
Method
As with any other stir fry, make sure you read the recipe and have all of your ingredients cut and measured before you start cooking. The cooking process will be quick and you need to pay attention in order to get good results. You do not want to be cutting and measuring while you are in the process of cooking over a hot flame. Proper planning will make the whole experience of stir-frying much more enjoyable.
The trick to successfully making fried rice is to ensure that the rice does not stick to the pan as you are cooking it. If the rice begins to stick, you will not be able to properly fry all of the rice and you may risk scorching the dish. Using a well-seasoned wok or cast-iron/steel pan is very helpful as they are essentially non-stick. You could also use a non-stick pan for this recipe but just make sure you do not get the pan too hot or the non-stick coating could deteriorate. If you are using a stainless steel pan you will have to be very careful to keep the pan hot while cooking or else the rice could stick.
I will also be attaching a recipe for prik nam pla, chilies marinated in fish sauce. This condiment is often served alongside crab fried rice to provide a spicy, salty kick. It will only take about 3 minutes to put together and is optional. The crab fried rice is slightly under-seasoned in order to account for the occasional drizzle of prik nam pla.
Needed to make this recipe:
- Plain steamed jasmine rice (this recipe is for 2 cups of uncooked rice, the recipe below only requires half this amount)
Crab Fried Rice – Khao Pad Buu – ข้าวผัดปู
Ingredients
Chilies in fish sauce – prik nam pla – optional condiment for drizzling on the rice
- 1.5 Tbsp fish sauce
- 4 thinly sliced red or green bird chilis
- 1 thinly sliced clove of garlic
Crab Fried Rice
- 4 Tbsp neutral cooking oil
- 20 grams roughly chopped garlic (about 5 cloves)
- 3 thinly sliced scallions, green parts reserved for garnish
- 2 eggs
- about 4 cups (475g) cooked and cooled jasmine rice (made from 1 cup of uncooked rice, see link above)
- 1/8 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp white pepper powder
- 1/4 tsp chicken bouillon powder (optional)
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce (can omit and substitute with 1/2 Tbsp fish sauce if a lighter colored fried rice is desired)
- 6 ounces fresh crabmeat (about 1 cup loosely packed)
- lime wedges and cucumber slices for serving
Instructions
Chilies in fish sauce – prik nam pla
- Combine fish sauce, sliced chilies and garlic in a small bowl and set aside until ready to eat
Crab Fried Rice
- Make sure you have everything cut and measured before you start cooking. I like to put the garlic and scallion whites in one container; the white pepper, sugar, and bouillon powder in another container; and the fish sauce and soy sauce in another container. This makes cooking a bit easier as these different groups of ingredients will be added to the pan at the same time.
- **If your pan is small or your burner is not very powerful, Divide your ingredients in half and cook the fried rice in 2 batches, this will ensure you can properly stir-fry (instead of steaming) and will keep the rice from sticking to the pan.. A well-seasoned wok or cast iron pan will also help reduce sticking**
- Heat the wok or pan over medium-high heat and then add the cooking oil. *see note below regarding temperatures*
- Add the garlic and scallion whites to the hot oil. (save the scallion greens for garnishing)
- Cook the garlic and scallion whites over medium-high heat for about 10-15 seconds until they are aromatic but not brown.
- Add the eggs. If the temperature of the pan is correct, they should start to bubble up and cook immediately without burning, sticking, or scorching.
- Break up the eggs with the back of your spoon or spatula and begin to cook while stirring. If the temperature of the pan is correct, the eggs will actively cook and scramble without burning or sticking. Cook for about 10-15 seconds until the curds are set.
- Turn the heat up to high and add the cooked rice. Begin to break up the rice with your spoon or spatula. Stir fry for 30 seconds.
- Add the white pepper, sugar, and bouillon powder and toss to combine.
- Stir fry the rice for about 1 minute.
- Add the fish sauce and soy sauce around the edge of the pan and stir fry for 1-2 more minutes. Rice should start to slightly dry out without burning.
- Add the crabmeat.
- Stir fry the rice for 1-2 more minutes until everything is hot, well combined, and the grains of rice are separate, not clumpy.
- Serve on 2 plates (1 plate if part of a larger, family-style meal) and garnish with sliced scallion greens. Serve fried rice with lime wedges, cucumber slices, and the chilies in fish sauce for drizzling.
