Poo Pad Pong Karee (ปูผัดผงกะหรี่): A deliciously spicy and rich Thai crab curry which leaves you licking fingers!
we cooked for a cute crab seller aunty and received valuable cooking advice!
Recently, on our regular wet market visits to buy ingredients for our cooking shoots, we stumbled upon a friendly and jovial character, charming market goers and customers with her wide smile and warm demeanour.
Aunty has been running her fresh shellfish business, aptly named Auntie’s Crabs, for the past 12 years at the back section of 726 West Coast Market. the spread of shellfish that she sells includes live flower crabs, Sri Lankan mud crabs blood cockles, razor clams and chut-chut snails.
After approaching her for a casual chat, we decided that she would be a cute profile to feature in our latest ‘What Do You Want To Eat?” series! furthermore, after listening to her stories of hardship as a shellfish entrepreneur and working 6.5 days every week to keep her business afloat, we decided it would be nice to gift her with a crab dish, in hopes of giving her relief and nourishment on a tiring work day.
As per her request, Chef Azfar prepared a traditional Southern Thai dish called ‘Poo Pad Pong Karee’ - which literally translates to" ‘Crab Stir-Fried in Curry Powder’. coincidentally, this was one of his favourite dishes that he enjoyed eating during his days as a restaurant intern in Phuket 11 years ago! this recipe is a result of the flavours recalled from memory and from the cooking skills he learnt from the Thai chef-mentors he used to worked under.
Even Aunty approves of the dish! However, she prefers her curry to be on the drier side and for it to cling onto the crab more steadily.
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Thai Stir-fried Crab in Curry Powder - Poo Pad Pong Karee(ปูผัดผงกะหรี่)
Ingredients:
5 medium-sized flower crabs (can substitute with mud crabs)
1 large yellow onion, sliced
5 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp Thai yellow curry powder
4-6 red bird’s eye chillies (chilli padi), sliced
1/4 cup oil
2 lemongrass, bruised
1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup evaporated milk
3 sprigs spring onion, roughly cut
1 bunch coriander leaves, picked
water, as needed
sauce mix:
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp MSG / chicken seasoning powder (optional)
2 tsp sugar
to garnish:
2 limes, wedged
directions:
combine well all the ingredients for the sauce mix and set aside.
clean and dress the flower crabs by separating the top shell from the body, separating the body into halves, rinsing the crabs well and cracking the legs shells slightly to allow the seasoning too seep into the flesh. set aside.
heat a wok/pan with oil on medium-high heat. stir-fry the onion, garlic and lemongrass until fragrant. sprinkle in the curry powder and sauté until fragrant, stirring constantly to prevent the curry powder from burning.
add in the chillies and sauce mix. bring it to a boil and toss in the crabs.
coat the crabs with the sauce and cover with a lid. simmer for a few minutes or until the crabs are fully cooked. the shell will turn pink to signal that it is perfectly cooked.
pour in the evaporated milk, add in black pepper and adjust seasoning and consistency according to preference. combine the coriander leaves and spring onion and remove from heat.
serve in a bowl with wedges of lime to squeeze before enjoying the curry with a side of rice, Thai rice vermicelli (khanom jeen) or even toasted bread!
Enjoy!
