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Thai Soft Shell Crab Curry - ปูนิ่มผัดผงกระหรี่

Thai Soft Shell Crab Curry - ปูนิ่มผัดผงกระหรี่

Ian Benites
A rich, spicy, and aromatic curry made with soft shell crabs. Eat with plenty of steamed jasmine rice!
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Course Main Course
Servings 2 to 4

Equipment

  • wok OR large pot and a large saute pan
  • kitchen scissors

Ingredients
  

Frying the crabs

  • 2 medium or large soft shell crabs
  • 4 tbsp corn starch
  • 3 cups neutral flavored cooking oil (canola, vegetable, corn....etc)

Curry

  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1.5 tbsp nam prik pao (store bought is OK)
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tbsp Shaoxing wine (optional)
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1.5 tbsp fish sauce
  • 4 tbsp neutral flavored cooking oil (canola, vegetable, corn....etc)
  • 1/2 medium-sized onion
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 tbsp curry powder (preferably thai curry powder or madras-style curry powder)
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • about 1/2 cup water or chicken stock
  • 1 egg, beaten with a fork
  • 10 red or green thai bird chilies
  • 4 scallions
  • 3-6 cilantro branches, with the stem (enough to yield 1/2 cup after very roughly chopping)

Instructions
 

Cleaning the crabs

  • If you are squeamish about killing the crabs, put them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before killing them. This will slow them down and *supposedly* keep them from feeling pain. Use a pair of scissors to cut off the front of the crabs (about a 1/4 inch cut, behind the eyes and mouth). Discard the front.
    face
  • Lay the crab flat on its belly and flip up one side of the carapace to reveal the gills.
    gills
  • Cut off the feathery-looking gills with your scissors and discard them.
    gills
  • Repeat on the other side. There should be no gills left as shown in the picture.
  • Flip the crab over and pull back its apron. Males will have thin, long aprons and females will have wider aprons.
  • Cut off and discard the apron.
  • Cut the crabs in half and set them aside until ready to fry.

Prepping the curry ingredients

  • In a small bowl, mix together 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1.5 tbsp nam prik pao, 1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tbsp shaoxing wine (optional), 1 tsp soy sauce, 1.5 tbsp fish sauce. Stir until well combined and set aside.
  • Cut the onions into 1/3 inch thick slices. Set aside.
  • Remove the roots from the scallions and cut them into 1/4 inch sections. Set aside.
  • Cut the cilantro (with its stems) into 1/2 inch pieces. Set aside
  • Cut the 10 bird chilies into 1/8 inch thick pieces. Set aside.

Cooking the Curry

  • Make sure you have all of your ingredients cut and prepped before cooking the curry.
  • Heat 3 cups of neutral oil in a large wok over medium-high until hot ( ideally 375F). If you do not have a wok, use a large pot (you may need to add more or less oil depending on the size of your pot, you want at least 1 inch of oil in the pot.
  • Place the pieces of crab into a bowl and toss with 4 tbsp of cornstarch to evenly coat the crab.
  • When the oil is hot, carefully add the pieces of crab to the oil. BE VERY CAREFUL AT THIS STAGE AS THE OIL MAY SIZZLE AND POP AGGRESSIVELY FOR THE FIRST 30 SECONDS.
  • Cook the crabs for about 90 seconds on the first side. Adjust the heat on the wok to keep the oil nice and hot. The target temperature for the oil is about 350F after the crabs have been added (the crabs will drop the temperature of the oil)
  • Flip the crabs over and cook for another 2 minutes, or until the crabs are crispy and lightly golden.
  • Remove the crabs from the hot oil.
  • Set the crabs aside on a plate lined with paper towels.
  • Clean out the wok (or get out your large sautee pan), dry it well, and add 4 tbsp neutral oil. Heat the oil over medium heat.
  • When the oil is hot, add the onions and stir fry for about 30-45 seconds. They should barely start to soften and get light brown around the edges.
  • Add the garlic and cook another 15-30 seconds, don't let the garlic burn. Adjust heat as necessary.
  • Add the curry powder to the wok and stir fry the powder for about 15-30 seconds. It should start to smell aromatic but do not let the powder scorch.
  • Add the sauce mixture to the wok and allow it to cook over medium heat for about 30-45 seconds. It should boil and reduce as it cooks.
  • Add the milk and water/stock to the pan and increase the heat to medium high.
  • Allow the sauce to fully boil and then drizzle in the beaten egg and immediately stir it in well.
  • Immediately after the eggs have been added to the pan, add the scallion, bird chilies and cilantro.
  • Immediately after the herbs and chilies, add the fried soft shell crabs. Cook everything together for about 15-30 seconds while stirring so that the sauce is simmering and thickens up slightly from the egg.
    Adding the crab
  • Turn off the heat and now adjust the curry. Adjust the consistency of the curry by adding stock or water if necessary in order to achieve a consistency that is thick but still flows nicely. Adjust seasoning with fish sauce and sugar if necessary.
  • Serve curry with plenty of steamed rice!
    Thai Soft Shell Crab Curry - ปูนิ่มผัดผงกระหรี่