Name: Southern Thai Yellow Crab Curry | Marion's Kitchen
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Thai cuisine
Ingredients: 1 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 x 400ml can coconut milk; 2 tbsp fish sauce; 1 tbsp palm sugar; 300g (10.5 oz) crab meat; 1 cup betel leaves, Thai basil leaves or Italian basil leaves*; cooked vermicelli noodles, to serve; Curry paste; 15 dried birds’ eye chillies; 2 coriander (cilantro) roots; 2 stalks lemongrass; 4cm (1.5in) piece galangal, peeled and roughly chopped; 4cm (1.5in) piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped; 3 garlic cloves; 2 small red Asian shallots, roughly chopped; 2 makrut lime leaves, destemmed and roughly chopped; 1 tsp shrimp paste; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp ground coriander; 1 tsp sea salt; 1 tsp turmeric

Southern Thai Yellow Crab Curry

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When I left Thailand and moved to Australia, this was the dish I missed the most. It’s an absolute stunner of a curry, but some ingredients were hard to source. Luckily for you, I’ve found all the substitutions to rustle up a comforting batch from your very own kitchen.

WATCH THIS RECIPE

Southern Thai Yellow Crab Curry

PREP TIME

15 minutes

COOK TIME

15 minutes

SERVES

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 x 400ml can coconut milk

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp palm sugar

300g (10.5 oz) crab meat

1 cup betel leaves, Thai basil leaves or Italian basil leaves*

cooked vermicelli noodles, to serve

Curry paste

15 dried birds’ eye chillies

2 coriander (cilantro) roots

2 stalks lemongrass

4cm (1.5in) piece galangal, peeled and roughly chopped

4cm (1.5in) piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves

2 small red Asian shallots, roughly chopped

2 makrut lime leaves, destemmed and roughly chopped

1 tsp shrimp paste

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp turmeric

Steps

For the curry paste, soak the chillies in hot water for 15 minutes. Drain (reserve the soaking liquid) and place the chillies into the bowl of a food processor. Add all the remaining curry paste ingredients except the turmeric. Blend until smooth (add 1-2 tablespoons of the chilli soaking liquid if necessary to get a smooth blend). Transfer the paste to a bowl and stir through the turmeric.
Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add half the curry paste (keep the other half in the freezer to use another time). Cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes to allow the aromatics to soften and mellow. Then add the coconut milk, ½ cup water, fish sauce and palm sugar. Simmer for 2 minutes to allow the palm sugar to dissolve. Stir through the crab meat and simmer for another 2-3 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more fish sauce and/or palm sugar if needed. Stir through the betel or basil leaves.
Serve alongside vermicelli noodles.
Notes:

– Traditionally it’s customary to use betel leaves but I often use Thai basil or even Italian basil to get a similar herbaceous flavour.

-Frozen curry paste will last up to 6 months in the freezer. Thaw overnight before using.

-Use less curry paste for a milder curry.

Curries Homemade Thai dinners Lunch Noodles Restaurant classics Seafood Thai cuisine Weekend meals

FROM THE SHOP

Southern Thai Yellow Crab Curry

When I left Thailand and moved to Australia, this was the dish I missed the most. It’s an absolute stunner of a curry, but some ingredients were hard to source. Luckily for you, I’ve found all the substitutions to rustle up a comforting batch from your very own kitchen.
PREP TIME	15 minutes
COOK TIME	15 minutes
SERVES	4

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 x 400ml can coconut milk

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp palm sugar

300g (10.5 oz) crab meat

1 cup betel leaves, Thai basil leaves or Italian basil leaves*

cooked vermicelli noodles, to serve

Curry paste

15 dried birds’ eye chillies

2 coriander (cilantro) roots

2 stalks lemongrass

4cm (1.5in) piece galangal, peeled and roughly chopped

4cm (1.5in) piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves

2 small red Asian shallots, roughly chopped

2 makrut lime leaves, destemmed and roughly chopped

1 tsp shrimp paste

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp turmeric

Steps

For the curry paste, soak the chillies in hot water for 15 minutes. Drain (reserve the soaking liquid) and place the chillies into the bowl of a food processor. Add all the remaining curry paste ingredients except the turmeric. Blend until smooth (add 1-2 tablespoons of the chilli soaking liquid if necessary to get a smooth blend). Transfer the paste to a bowl and stir through the turmeric.
Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add half the curry paste (keep the other half in the freezer to use another time). Cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes to allow the aromatics to soften and mellow. Then add the coconut milk, ½ cup water, fish sauce and palm sugar. Simmer for 2 minutes to allow the palm sugar to dissolve. Stir through the crab meat and simmer for another 2-3 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more fish sauce and/or palm sugar if needed. Stir through the betel or basil leaves.
Serve alongside vermicelli noodles.
Notes:

– Traditionally it’s customary to use betel leaves but I often use Thai basil or even Italian basil to get a similar herbaceous flavour.

-Frozen curry paste will last up to 6 months in the freezer. Thaw overnight before using.

-Use less curry paste for a milder curry.

Pamela

June 7, 2023

Craving Satisfied!!!

I went to One Chun Cafe & Restaurant (Michelin-starred) in Phuket Old Town and had this beautiful Crab Curry with Rice Noodles that I was craving really badly. So much so that I was almost planning another trip to Phuket just to eat that.

I decided to search for restaurants in Singapore that might serve the dish, to no avail. As a desperate measure, I decided to cook it myself and found this recipe. It was the first one I found and didn’t really expect much but it blew my mind. It was soooooo good I ate it all. The whole recipe of it hahaha.

It’s such a gem, thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!

Jack

December 19, 2022

This is amazing

So close to the actual Thai curry – you will be blown away

Bridget

June 30, 2022

Question

I need 8 servings. Would I use all the curry paste and double the other ingredients that are added to the curry paste??

Response from Marion's Kitchen

Absolutely spot on – you got it! All the curry paste, and double the remaining ingredients. Enjoy!

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