Cherry & Dennis Helper Habitat
Thai Crab Fried Rice
泰式蟹肉炒飯
Recipe overview
Break up cold day-old rice, scramble egg into small curds, then use high heat to dry-fry the rice. Cooked crab enters only briefly, followed by fish sauce, white pepper, spring onion, coriander and lime.
01
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 600 g Cold day-old rice
- 250 g Cooked crab meat
- 3 Eggs
- 30 g Spring onion
- 10 g Coriander
- 1 Lime
Egg mixture
- 1/8 tsp Salt
Stir-fry sauce
- 1 tbsp Fish sauce
- 1/4 tsp Ground white pepper
Cooking oil
- 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
02
Tools
- Large wok and spatula
- Knife and board
- Mixing bowl
- Measuring spoons
- Clean serving plate
03
Steps
Step 1
Break up cold rice
Break up cold rice: use clean fingers to separate day-old rice into grains and press apart hard clumps; never rinse it.
Step 2
Check crab meat
Check crab meat: pick cooked crab for shell fragments, then keep it lightly on a plate without crushing it.
Step 3
Cut herbs
Cut herbs: slice spring onion into white and green parts, chop coriander and cut lime into four wedges.
Step 4
Beat eggs
Beat eggs: beat 3 eggs with the egg-mixture salt until even, without whipping air into them.
Step 5
Preheat wok
Preheat wok: heat empty wok over high heat 1 minute until faintly smoking, then add 2 tablespoons oil.
Step 6
Scramble egg
Scramble egg: add egg and stir 30 seconds until small curds just set, then lift out to prevent overcooking.
Step 7
Dry-fry rice
Dry-fry rice: add cold rice and spring-onion whites, press and toss over high heat 2 minutes until every grain is hot and dry.
Step 8
Season rice
Season rice: drizzle fish sauce around wok edge with white pepper, then fry 1 minute until aroma steams off and grains separate.
Step 9
Warm crab briefly
Warm crab briefly: add cooked crab for only 45 seconds, folding gently until hot without breaking the meat.
Step 10
Return egg and herbs
Return egg and herbs: add egg, spring-onion greens and coriander, then toss over high heat 20 seconds.
Step 11
Taste and lime
Taste and lime: taste with a clean spoon, then squeeze a little lime only if wanted so rice does not become wet.
Step 12
Plate immediately
Plate immediately: serve on warm clean plates when rice is dry and separate and crab remains hot and whole.
Common mistakes
- Using freshly cooked wet rice makes a sticky mash.
- Adding crab early or cooking it too long dries and breaks it.
- Pouring fish sauce onto cold rice centre gives uneven seasoning.
- Adding a lot of lime after frying wets the rice.
Tips
If day-old rice has firm clumps, leave it at room temperature 10 minutes before breaking it up. Cooked crab needs reheating only; do not use these times for raw crab. Squeeze lime onto individual portions for children who prefer milder flavour.
