Recipe: Fried Rice with Crabmeat (Kao Paht Boo)

Fried Rice with Crabmeat (Kao Paht Boo)
Source: Real Thai by Nancee McDermott
Servings: 4

You can be extravagant and make this dish with fresh crabmeat, or you can be economical and use canned. You could also substitute shrimp, scallops, or squid, remembering to allow enough extra time for any raw seafood to cook through.

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 eggs, well beaten
4 cups cold cooked jasmine rice, preferably chilled, see recipe
1/4 cup onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 pound (about 1 cup) cooked lump crabmeat, picked over for shell fragments
2 tablespoons fish sauce plus more for serving
3 tablespoons green onion, thinly sliced crosswise
2 small cucumbers, peeled and sliced on the diagonal into thick ovals
1 lime, cut lengthwise into 6 wedges
fresh chilies, thinly sliced

Heat a wok or large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil and swirl to coat the surface. When the oil is hot, add the eggs and tilt the pan to spread them into a thin sheet. Cook until the egg sheet is opaque, golden on the bottom, and almost set on the top, then turn it onto a cutting board. When it is cool enough to handle, slice the sheet into thin threads about 2 inches long; set aside.

Prepare the rice by crumbling it with your fingers, breaking up all the lumps into individual grains; set aside.

Reheat the wok over high heat. When it is hot, add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil. When the oil is quite hot, add the chopped onion and stir-fry until softened, 1 minute. Add the rice and cook for 2 minutes, stir-frying to heat the grains and keep them separate.

Add the crabmeat and the 2 tablespoons fish sauce and stir-fry for 1 minute, leaving the meat in lumps as much as possible. Toss in the green onion and egg threads, stir once and transfer to a serving platter.

Garnish the platter with the cucumber slices and lime wedges. Pour some fish sauce into a small bowl and add the chilies to taste. Serve the rice at once. Let each guest season his or her portion with lime juice and the chili-laced fish sauce.