Cooking: Crab Fried Rice

Last night I decided not to go to the seafood counter for clams and mussels and a fennel bulb and instead make do with what I had already and cook what Dungeness I had left after the gratin into crab fried rice. Also a friend gave me some Thai chiles, which I first turned into a condiment with macerated garlic, fish sauce, lime juice and because I had it—basil and cilantro. And then I made the cooking sauce which was fish sauce, soy sauce, black pepper (because I didn't have white) and a teaspoon of sugar.

I'm trying to integrate more vegetables into our meals, and so I also decided to include sugar snap peas and baby carrots into the fried rice as well as substitute some leftover barbecued pork for the eggs. Like most Asian fried rice dishes, the recipe called for garlic and scallions to which I added shallots. The recipe also called for cucumber and lime wedges to serve alongside the fried rice.

I'm still on the fence about my carbon steel wok though I do admit that I like the high sides for fitting more ingredients. The problem with using a wok on a conventional stove is heating up those sides. And so I let the wok warm on medium heat for at least 30 minutes, but that still doesn't let it get screaming hot for a stir fry. I don't know if I want to go to the trouble of getting a butane burner for more stir fry cooking outdoors.

The recipe called for cooking the garlic until golden or fragrant, which I followed but it was too fast. Next time I'll throw in the vegetables or onions first and THEN add the garlic to prevent possible burning. And then I added half of the cooked jasmine rice (one cup of dry rice boiled in one cup of water)to toast in the oil.

I then added the soy sauce mixture and stirred to combine. It was looking too dark and too salty, and so I added the other half of the cooked jasmine rice.

And lastly the crab, being mindful to not break it down too much or to leave it in large chunks while folding it into the fried rice. And once it was heated through which just took a few minutes, I sprinkled the green tops of the scallions and chopped cilantro.

For the plating, I arranged cucumbers alongside the fried rice and spooned the Prik Nam Pla over the vegetables and squeezed lime over the rice.

I had been wanting to try cooking this dish for some months now and am glad I tried something new to increase my repertoire although it's not my favorite. My favorite fried rice dishes usually include Spam and a fried egg on top. But at least, the hubs ate the crab fried rice last night because seafood is not his favorite.