Main course Thai-inspired
Crab, Egg and Spring Onion Fried Rice
Meat & fish
Editorially prepared
Separate-grained fried rice with delicate crab meat, egg, ginger and spring onions. Fish sauce seasons the rice, with lime squeezed over at the table.
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Ingredients
4 servings · metric units
For a larger quantity, cook more batches rather than overcrowding the pan. Use no more than half the base quantity of rice per batch. Allow about 10 minutes of work for each additional batch.
Substitutions
Substitute amounts are adjusted to your selected servings.
- Instead of cooked white crab meat, out of the shelltinned crab meat in brine
Use the same drained weight. Pat the meat dry; it is usually finer and saltier. When making the seasoning mixture, add only some of the fish sauce and reserve the rest to adjust each hot batch after tasting.
- Instead of cooked white crab meat, out of the shellcooked peeled prawns
If crab is unavailable, use a similar drained weight of prawns, chopping larger ones. Add at the crab stage and heat until piping hot throughout. They will be firmer; this makes a prawn variation rather than crab fried rice.
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Optional ingredients and substitutions
You’ll need
Large 30–32 cm frying pan or wok · One hob ring · Spatula · Chopping board and knife · Scales and measuring spoons · Small bowls for prepared ingredients · Clean bowl for the cooked eggs · Serving platter and foil for loosely covering
Method
0/9 stepsPrepare two batches of ingredients
Break up any clumps in the cold rice. Check the crab meat for shell fragments and drain off excess liquid. Wash the spring onions, separate the whites from the greens and slice thinly. Reserve half the greens for serving. Peel and finely chop the ginger and garlic. Beat the eggs. Mix the fish sauce with the sugar and pepper. Cut the lime into wedges. Divide the rice, crab, ginger, garlic, spring onion whites, greens for frying and seasoning mixture into two equal batches. Divide the oil into three equal portions: one for the eggs and one for each batch of rice. Allow about 12 minutes for preparation.
Prepare two batches of ingredients Cook the eggs
Add the oil portion reserved for the eggs to the pan and heat over a medium-high heat for about 2 minutes, until the oil flows freely across the base without smoking. Add the eggs and cook, drawing them together with a spatula, for about 2 minutes from pouring them in. They should form soft, fully set curds with no liquid egg remaining; cook a little longer if needed. Transfer to a clean bowl and divide into two portions.
02:00Cook the eggs Fry the first batch of aromatics
Add the oil portion for the first batch of rice to the same pan. Add the first portions of ginger, garlic and spring onion whites. Stir-fry over a medium-high heat for about 1 minute from adding them, until fragrant and the spring onions soften slightly. Cook a little longer if needed. Do not brown the garlic; reduce the heat if it darkens quickly.
01:00Fry the first batch of aromatics Fry the first batch of rice
Add the first portion of rice and increase the heat. Spread it across the base, then stir-fry for 3–5 minutes from adding it, turning frequently with a spatula and separating any remaining clumps. The rice should be hot, separate-grained and lightly golden in places, with no moisture pooling in the pan. If it is still cool or wet, keep frying before adding anything else.
04:00Fry the first batch of rice Finish the first batch with crab
Add the first portions of seasoning mixture, crab, cooked eggs and spring onion greens intended for frying. Fold gently over a high heat, lifting the rice from underneath, for about 3 minutes from adding the crab. Everything, including the centres of larger crab pieces, must be piping hot; if not, keep cooking and check again. Transfer to the serving platter and cover loosely with foil while cooking the second batch.
03:00Finish the first batch with crab Fry the remaining aromatics
While the first batch waits covered on the platter, add the remaining oil to the pan. Heat over a medium-high heat for about 1 minute, until the oil flows freely across the base without smoking. Add the remaining ginger, garlic and spring onion whites. Stir-fry for about 1 minute from adding them, until fragrant and the spring onions soften slightly. Cook a little longer if needed; reduce the heat if the garlic starts to darken.
01:00Fry the remaining aromatics Fry the remaining rice
Add the remaining rice and increase the heat. Stir-fry for 3–5 minutes from adding it, turning frequently with a spatula and breaking up clumps. Continue to the next stage when the rice is hot, separate-grained and lightly golden in places, with no moisture pooling in the pan. If it is still cool or wet, keep frying.
04:00Fry the remaining rice Finish the second batch with crab
Add the remaining seasoning mixture, crab, cooked eggs and spring onion greens intended for frying. Fold gently over a high heat for about 3 minutes from adding the crab. Check that everything, including the centres of larger crab pieces, is piping hot. If not, continue cooking and check again. Keep the reserved fresh spring onion greens for serving.
03:00Finish the second batch with crab Serve with spring onion and lime
Remove the foil from the platter and add the second batch of rice. Scatter over the reserved fresh spring onion greens and arrange the lime wedges alongside. Serve immediately, squeezing lime juice over individual portions.
Serve with spring onion and lime
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Tips
- Cool cooked rice quickly, ideally within 1 hour, and refrigerate for no more than 24 hours before frying. Do not use rice that has spent a long time at room temperature.
- Prepare every ingredient before switching on the hob: there will be no time for chopping once frying begins.
- Add the crab towards the end and fold the rice with a spatula rather than stirring vigorously to preserve the pieces.
Storage
Best eaten straight away. Frying reheats the rice, so do not reheat the finished dish again. If an unserved portion remains, cool it quickly in a shallow container, refrigerate within 1 hour and eat cold within 24 hours of originally cooking the rice. Do not freeze the finished dish for reheating later.
Timing
Hands-on: 34 min · Cooking: 18 min
The total allows for tasks done in parallel. The individual times can overlap.
