Feeling crabby tonight... :P

What I mean is, we're having crab for dinner tonight :P. Specifically, I will be making Thai crab fried rice as per requested by the hubster. We first tried this dish at Thai Ginger (one of two Thai restaurants in Pullman, WA. I know, we had so many places to choose from!) and the hubster really enjoyed it. There's no doubt that the restaurant version is geared towards the American taste palate, thus being a wee bit sweeter than a traditional Thai version. However, this is just my assumption since I have never been to Thailand and have never tasted 'real' crab fried rice. I have searched the internet for what some claim to be 'traditional' Thai crab fried rice recipe and have tried various versions. Aside from finding similar recipes, I've also learned that Thai street vendors cook fried rice with butter or margarine!! Believe it or not, I actually tested it and surprisingly, it's not that bad. Whether butter is actually used in Thai fried rice, is still questionable. Perhaps one day, when I travel to Bangkok, I'll be able to verify it somehow.

Anyhow, the recipes that I've found mainly called for fish sauce, white pepper, garlic, green onions and of course, crab meat. They also referred to a sauce called Nam Pla Prik, which apparently is served with the fried rice. If I remember correctly, I don't recall our crab fried rice being served with this sauce every time we ordered it, so I wonder what it would've tastes like... In my version of the recipe, I will be adding soy sauce and ginger, and I'm going to fry the rice with butter because I like it! Oh and a wee bit of curry powder to give it a kick. Yes, I'm weird like that. 

My version of Thai Crab Fried Rice

2.5 cups of rice - for the best results you should use 'leftover' rice because it's not as wet
Crab meat - canned or frozen or fresh - I use 2 cans of crab meat
4-5 cloves of garlic - minced
small piece of ginger - minced
green onions - diced
2 eggs - beaten then scrambled
Fish sauce
Light Soy Sauce
white pepper
curry powder
Shaoxing wine
Oil for frying
2 Lime wedges
2-3 Tomatoes (depending on how big your tomatoes are) - sliced
Chopped cilantro for garnish

In a small bowl, add about 1 tbs of fish sauce, 1 tbs of soy sauce, 1/8 tsp of curry powder, 1 dash of white pepper and about a 1 tsp of Shaoxing wine. These are all estimates because I eyeball my ingredients. You can always add a bit more. I tend to make my food on the bland side - trying to be healthier. Heat oil in a wok or deep skillet and fry green onions, ginger, garlic until fragrant. Add rice and fry for 2 minutes or until it's hot. Add scrambled eggs and crab meat. Fry until everything is mixed and hot - I usually scoop a bit out to see if it's hot. If it is then it's ready. Spread sliced tomatoes on a plate - you really don't have to if you want to :P. It just makes the dish more aesthetically pleasing. I like to place blanched cabbage pieces in the center with tomatoes spread around the edge of the place and then place the fried rice is placed right in the center, on top of the cabbage. Garnish with cilantro. Squeeze lime juice from lime wedges onto the rice before serving.

Enjoy!!

My shell plate waiting for the crab fried rice :)

Final product!

I added chopped peanuts since the hubster chopped too many for another dish we were making