Kampot Pepper Crab

Medium·20 min

Whole crab stir-fried hard and fast with clusters of fresh green Kampot peppercorns still on the stem, garlic, fish sauce and palm sugar, so the sweet shellfish meets the bright, citrusy heat of the world-famous pepper.

This dish is the soul of the seaside towns of Kep and Kampot, where blue crabs are hauled straight from the bay and tossed with young peppercorns plucked fresh from nearby plantations. Kampot pepper earned protected geographical status in 2010, and its fragrant, almost citrus heat is what makes chha kdam mrech impossible to forget.

Sweet, briny crabmeat slides out of the shell glazed in a glossy savoury-sweet sauce, and the soft green peppercorns burst with a fresh, floral, lemony heat. It is messy, fragrant and built for cracking shells with your fingers.

Searing the crab in its shell over high heat caramelises surface sugars and locks in the sweet juices, while the brief covered steam finishes the dense meat. Fresh green peppercorns are milder and more aromatic than dried, lending citrus-floral heat without overpowering the delicate crab.

Variations

Made with squid or prawns instead of crab, with dried peppercorns if fresh unavailable, extra garlic version, butter-enriched sauce

On the Palate

Where Kampot Pepper Crab sits in the Cambodian flavor cloud

Ingredients

Serves 2

2 wholeCrab

3 tbspPeppercorn

5 cloves, mincedGarlic

How it's made

8 steps · 20 min

1
6 min
Clean the crabs, remove the top shell and cut the bodies into halves or quarters, cracking the claws.
2
2 min
Whisk fish sauce, oyster sauce, palm sugar and a little water or stock into a sauce.
3
2 min
Heat oil in a wok over high heat and fry the minced garlic until just golden.
Watch out
Fry the garlic only to pale gold and pull it back — let it brown and the whole dish turns bitter.
4
4 min
Add the crab pieces and stir-fry hard until the shells turn bright orange.
Watch out
Stir-fry the crab hard until the shells flash bright orange — that color change means the surface has seared and sealed the sweet juices in.
5
1 min
Add the clusters of fresh green peppercorns and toss to release their aroma.
6
3 min
Pour in the sauce and keep tossing so it coats the crab and reduces slightly.
7
3 min
Cover briefly to steam the crab through, then uncover and add spring onions.
Watch out
Cover only a minute or two to steam the meat through — leave it longer and the dense crab meat goes rubbery.
8
1 min
Toss once more and serve immediately with rice.