Thai Curry Crab Stir Fry (Pad Pong Karee)

The Thai dish known as Pad Pong Karee is a rich and flavorful stir fry of crab with curry powder, egg, milk, green onions, and Chinese celery. While these ingredients might seem like unlikely companions, they harmonize beautifully to create this fantastically delicious and unique main dish.

With crab season in full swing, our family has been enjoying this crustacean a lot recently. Fresh crab is great when steamed and eaten with the Thai seafood dipping sauce known as nam jim seafood.  We also really like making a simple, but delicious Thai crab fried rice. The clay pot known as Goong Ob Woonsen is also delicious when made with crab instead of shrimp.  But perhaps our favorite way of eating fresh crab is in this dish: Crab stir fried with curry powder known as Bu Pad Pong Karee.

What does "Bu Pad Pong Karee" mean?

In Thailand, this dish is known as "bu pad pong karee". In Thai, "bu" means crab (or paternal grandpa depending on your intonation!). "Pad" means stir fry, and "pong karee" means curry powder. For more Thai culinary words, see How to Interpret a Thai Menu.

Ingredients

• Garlic: Chop finely and stir fry until golden brown.
• White Onion: Slice into medium-thick slices and cook until translucent.
• Red Chili Pepper: A milder pepper such as red jalapeno works well in this dish, as it is not supposed to be very spicy.
• Crab: This dish is traditionally made with shell-on pieces of crab; however, we prefer to use crab meat so it can really soak up all of the flavors of the dish. Two cups of fresh crab meat are needed for this recipe.
• Eggs: Eggs form the basis of the "curry sauce". They are cooked with the milk and flavoring sauces until just set and still creamy.
• Milk: Some recipes call for evaporated milk and others call for whole milk. I've found that I prefer whole milk, so that's what this recipe calls for.
• Sugar: A little sugar brings out the natural sweetness of the crab meat and offsets the strong curry powder flavor.
• Curry Powder: The predominant flavor of this dish is the curry powder. You should use a mild Indian curry powder, not Thai yellow curry paste.
• Thin Soy Sauce: Thin soy sauce is the typical soy sauce used in Thai cooking. Either the original or mushroom variety work well. It adds a salty umami flavor to the dish.
• Oyster Sauce: Adds a salty and slightly sweet flavor to the dish. A Thai brand is preferred to achieve the correct taste.
• Roasted Chili Paste: Known as "nam prik pao" in Thai, roasted chili paste is a great all-in-one seasoning paste. It's spicy, salty, smokey, and sweet. This recipe calls for 1 Tablespoon of the paste, and 1 Tablespoon of the oil that floats on the top of the jar.
• Green Onions: Cut into 1 inch pieces.
• Chinese Celery: Pluck the leaves from the stems.

How to Make Pad Pong Karee

Pad Pong Karee is a quick and easy stir fry, but it does require some prep work. If you are starting with fresh crab, you'll want to steam it for approximately 20-25 minutes until the meat is cooked through. Alternatively, you can pop open a can of prepared crab meat. Then you'll need to prepare the vegetables and make the curry powder based sauce. Then you're ready to stir fry!

Step 1: Stir fry the garlic, onion, and red pepper slices until the garlic is golden brown and the onion is translucent.

Step 2: Then add the curry sauce mixture and the crab meat and allow to cook until the eggs are firming up, but still creamy.

Step 3: Add the green onions and Chinese celery and cook long enough to wilt the greens.

Step 4: Take the wok off the heat and serve immediately with hot jasmine rice. Enjoy!

Serving Suggestions

Crab Stir Fried with Curry Powder is so flavorful that it is best when eaten with jasmine rice. Scoop up a spoonful of hot jasmine rice with a bit of this stir fry dish and enjoy them together in one big bite. This dish can certainly stand alone, or you could serve it as part of a larger meal with a Thai soup and Thai vegetable dish or two.

Pad Pong Karee FAQs

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Recipe

Thai Curry Crab Stir Fry (Pad Pong Karee)

Featuring fresh crab meat stir fried in a tantalizing sauce made with curry powder, eggs, and milk, this stir fry is perfect for crab lovers.

4.75 from 12 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Thai

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 190kcal

Author: Rachel

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 Tablespoon garlic minced
• ▢ ½ cup white onion cut into large slices
• ▢ 1 red jalapeno pepper sliced
• ▢ 2 cups crab meat steamed and cracked
• ▢ 2 eggs
• ▢ ½ cup milk
• ▢ ½ teaspoon sugar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons curry powder
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon thin soy sauce
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon oyster sauce
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon roasted chili paste
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon roasted chili paste oil from the top of the jar
• ▢ 3 green onions sliced thinly
• ▢ 1 cup Chinese celery leaves

Instructions

• If you are starting with live crab, steam for approximately 20-25 minutes until the meat is cooked. Crack the crab to obtain all of the meat. Two medium-sized Dungeness crabs should be enough to yield 2 cups of meat.
• Prepare your vegetables by mincing the garlic, cutting the onion into large slices, and slicing the jalapeno pepper on the diagonal. Slice the green onion into inch lengths and pick and save the leaves of the Chinese celery for use later.
• Make the curry sauce by combining the eggs, milk, sugar, curry powder, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and roasted chili paste and oil. Whisk together until all ingredients are mixed and the eggs are fluffy. If you don't have roasted chili paste oil, use 2 Tablespoons of the paste, but omit the sugar.
• Heat a wok over medium-high heat and add a bit of a mild-flavored oil such as canola. Saute the garlic, white onion, and jalapeno slices until the garlic is golden brown and the onion is slightly translucent.
• Next add the curry sauce to the wok and allow to cook for a minute or two. Then add the crab meat and stir into the sauce. The eggs in the sauce should be firming up. Continue to cook until the eggs are cooked thoroughly.
• Finish the dish by mixing in the green onions and Chinese celery. Cook just long enough to wilt the greens, then take the wok off the heat.
• Serve this crab curry stir fry over a bed of hot jasmine rice, and enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 190kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 121mg | Sodium: 1171mg | Potassium: 517mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 595IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 135mg | Iron: 2mg

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