Thai Crab Fried Rice

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A restrained, restaurant-style khao pad poo built around sweet lump crab. Jasmine rice is fried hard in a dry-ish wok with garlic and egg, seasoned barely — fish sauce, a pinch of sugar, white pepper — then the crab is folded in off the heat so it stays in visible, glossy pieces. Served with lime, cucumber and a bowl of chile-fish sauce so each person seasons their own.

Ingredients

• 5 cups cooked jasmine rice, cooled at least 8 hours (about 1 3/4 cups uncooked)
• 3 tablespoons neutral oil, such as rice bran or canola
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 small yellow onion, cut into thin wedges
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 4 scallions, whites sliced thin, greens cut into 1-inch lengths

• 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons thin (light) soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (optional)

• 12 ounces pasteurized lump or jumbo lump crabmeat, drained and picked over
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

• 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 3 Thai chiles, thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• 1/2 English cucumber, sliced on the bias
• 1/3 cup cilantro leaves and tender stems

Instructions

1. Make the prik nam pla first: stir 3 tablespoons fish sauce, the lime juice, sliced Thai chiles and minced garlic together in a small bowl. Set aside at room temperature so the chiles bloom while you cook.
2. Break up the cold rice with wet hands on a sheet pan until every clump is separated into individual grains. This is the single biggest factor in whether the fried rice comes out dry and distinct instead of gummy. Leave it spread out and uncovered.
3. Drain the crab in a fine sieve, then spread it on a paper towel and blot gently. Pick through for shell or cartilage, keeping the lumps intact — do not shred it. Refrigerate until the moment you need it.
4. In a small bowl, combine 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce, the soy sauce, sugar and white pepper. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Have this, the rice, eggs and aromatics all within arm's reach of the stove.
5. Heat a 14-inch carbon steel wok or your largest heavy skillet over high heat until a drop of water vaporizes on contact, about 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons oil and swirl, then add the onion wedges and scallion whites. Stir-fry 45 seconds, until the onion edges are translucent but still crisp.
6. Push the onions to one side, add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and the garlic to the clear space, and stir for 15 to 20 seconds — just until fragrant and pale gold, never brown.
7. Pour in the beaten eggs and let them set undisturbed for 15 seconds, then scramble into large soft curds, about 30 seconds more. They should still look slightly wet.
8. Add all the rice at once. Press it against the hot surface with the back of your spatula, let it sit 20 seconds, then toss and fold. Repeat this press-and-toss for 3 to 4 minutes until the grains are hot through, lightly toasted, and jumping loose in the pan.
9. Drizzle the seasoning mixture around the hot edge of the pan rather than onto the rice, so it sizzles and caramelizes on contact. Toss for 1 minute until the color is even and no wet patches remain. Taste a spoonful — it should be noticeably under-seasoned compared to takeout. Resist adding more; the crab and the prik nam pla finish it.
10. Kill the heat. Add the butter, scallion greens and the sesame oil if using, and fold once or twice as the butter melts. Scatter the crab over the top and fold no more than three times with a gentle lifting motion, using residual heat only to warm it through, about 30 seconds. Stop while you can still see whole lumps.
11. Turn out onto a warm platter or press into a small bowl and unmold onto each plate. Top with cilantro and serve immediately with lime wedges, cucumber slices and the prik nam pla on the side.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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