Whole crab pieces stir-fried in yellow curry powder with eggs poured in to set into soft, savory curds, loosened with evaporated milk and finished with celery and chili. Unlike paste-based Thai curries, it relies on dry curry powder for its mellow, golden warmth.
Pu pad pong karee — crab in curry powder — is a celebrated Thai-Chinese seafood dish from Bangkok's restaurant scene, the crab wok-tossed with egg and yellow curry powder into a silky, fragrant sauce. It is a special-occasion dish, eaten with the fingers.
Sweet crab meat slips from the shell into a soft, custardy curry that's rich but never heavy, the egg curds catching pools of golden sauce. A whisper of chili and the green snap of celery keep each spoonful lively.
Frying the crab in-shell first sets the meat and renders flavor into the oil; eggs stirred in off a rolling boil set into tender curds that thicken the sauce, while evaporated milk smooths the curry powder's sharpness.
Variations
Soft-shell crab, prawns or fish fillet versions, milk swapped for coconut milk, with bell pepper
On the Palate
Where Pu Pad Pong Karee sits in the Thai flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 3
How it's made
8 steps · 25 min
- 16 min
Clean the crab and chop into large pieces, cracking the claws.
- 24 min
Lightly fry the crab pieces in oil until the shells turn red, then remove.
Watch outFry the crab just until the shells flush red, then out — leave it in and the meat toughens before the sauce is even made.
- 32 min
Saute garlic, then stir in curry powder and a spoon of chili paste.
Watch outStir the curry powder in the hot oil until it smells toasty and fragrant, but keep it moving — burnt curry powder turns bitter fast.
- 42 min
Pour in evaporated milk and a little stock, season with oyster and fish sauce.
- 53 min
Return the crab and simmer briefly so it absorbs the sauce.
- 62 min
Drizzle beaten eggs over and gently fold to form soft curds.
Watch outDrizzle the egg in a thin stream and fold gently once or twice — over-stir and it breaks into hard grains instead of soft ribbons.
- 71 min
Add Chinese celery, spring onion and sliced chili.
- 81 min
Toss once and serve immediately over rice.
