Crab Fried Rice is a classic and much beloved Thai dish, characterized by its delicate flavors. The crab is really the star of the show here, so a light touch is used when it comes to soy sauce, fish sauce, and the shaoxing wine. The cilantro, scallion, and lime combo adds the perfect fresh flavor.
The first time I had this rice was at a Japanese restaurant in Philadelphia. My professor was paying for lunch for a group of students, which means, hey–SPRINGING for the $15 crab fried rice. At first I wasn’t really impressed by it. It was definitely good, but only later when I ate the leftovers with chili oil did I truly appreciate the flavors.
So, as we do with many dishes on this here blog, we definitely recommend liberal amounts of chili oil on the side. You need just enough so it’s spicy and zingy, but the crab remains, well…crabby. And well at the forefront.
Onwards to this crab fried rice!
Crab Fried Rice Recipe Instructions
First, prep all of your ingredients, including your aromatics—ginger, garlic, cilantro, and scallions. Prep the beaten eggs as well and set them aside. Only when you have all the ingredients prepared and ready to go should you start cooking.
Heat the cooking oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add the ginger first, stirring for 30 seconds. Then add the garlic.
When the garlic is just cooked (before it starts to turn golden), add the cooked white rice to the wok, and turn up the heat to high. Stir fry the rice for 3 minutes or so until it’s thoroughly combined with the ginger/garlic mixture and/or warmed through if you’re using leftover rice.
Now for the flavorings: add the white pepper, fish sauce, soy sauce, and Shaoxing wine to the rice. If it’s not quite salty enough for you or if you know you won’t be eating it with added hot sauce, now is the time to add salt to taste. Stir-fry to combine. Using your wok spatula, spread the rice out into an even layer along the surface of the wok. Pour the beaten egg evenly over the rice.
Stir the rice until all of the egg is cooked and incorporated. The egg coats the rice and makes for a most excellent savory experience. Much better than broken up bits/huge chunks of scrambled egg throughout.
Before adding the crab, use your wok spatula to once more spread the rice evenly in the wok. Add the crab to the rice and stir fry thoroughly.
When the crab is warmed through, add the scallion and cilantro and stir-fry briefly until the herbs are just wilted.
Serve your Thai Crab fried rice and finish with a squeeze of lime and your favorite chili oil!
If you’re not crazy about crab fried rice but in still need of a carb fix, then check out our growing collection of rice and noodles recipes.
Crab Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 3-4 tablespoons oil
- 2 tablespoons ginger (minced)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 4 cups cooked white rice
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (optional)
- salt (to taste)
- 2 eggs (beaten)
- 1 cup cooked lump crab meat (half of a 16 oz. can/225g)
- 2 scallions (chopped)
- 1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- First, prep all of your ingredients, including your aromatics--ginger, garlic, cilantro, and scallion. Prep the beaten eggs as well and set them aside. Only when you have all the ingredients prepared and ready to go should you start cooking.
- Heat the cooking oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add the ginger first, stirring for 30 seconds. Then add the garlic. When the garlic is just cooked (before it starts to turn golden), add the cooked rice to the wok, and turn up the heat to high. Stir fry the rice for 3 minutes or so until it's thoroughly combined with the ginger/garlic mixture and/or warmed through if you're using leftover rice.
- Now for the flavorings: add the white pepper, fish sauce, soy sauce, and shaoxing wine to the rice. If it's not quite salty enough for you or if you know you won't be eating it with added hot sauce, now is the time to add salt to taste. Stir-fry to combine.
- Using your spatula, spread the rice out into an even layer along the surface of the wok. Pour the beaten egg evenly over the rice. Stir the rice until all of the egg is cooked and incorporated. The egg coats the rice and makes for a most excellent savory experience. Much better than broken up bits/huge chunks of scrambled egg throughout.
- Before adding the crab, use your spatula to once more spread the rice evenly in the wok. Add the crab to the rice and stir fry thoroughly. When the crab is warmed through, add the scallion and cilantro and stir-fry briefly until the herbs are just wilted. Serve and finish with a squeeze of lime and your favorite chili oil!
nutrition facts
Hi, I plan to make this dish. It looks great! Two quick questions: 1) How do you recommend to cook crab meet? I do not want to over/under cook it. 2) Dark or light soy source do you suggest? Thank you!
Hi Brin, we buy pre-cooked crab meat generally for this recipe, so you can add it as described in the recipe. When you stir fry it into the rice, it’s to bring it up to temperature. Light soy sauce for this recipe. Generally when we just say “soy sauce” we mean light soy sauce, but we are being more diligent about clarifying these days!
My favorite dish.
I make it for my family at least 2x a month.
Thank you
That’s awesome, Shelia! Thank you! :)
Tried this recipe for dinner tonight. My husband and I loved it! I will probably get the Shaoxing wine and make it again. Thank you!
So glad you both loved it, Anna! Shoaxing wine is a great investment :)
Love this recipe! I would however only put in about 3/4 of the flavouring as it was a bit too salty for me! But otherwise its perfect! I didn’t have a wok and used a heavy based fry pan instead and it turned out perfectly!
Thank you for your comment, Carmen. Do feel free to adjust the taste to your own liking.
Hi there!
I just want to thank you guys for sharing all these awesome recipes. I chanced upon your website while surfing for a recipe for crabmeat fried rice. Took a chance and didnt regret at all. I was so impressed it turned out so good, even my children love it. Tried another recipe and hit the jackpot again. Thank you so much!
You definitely should try more of our recipes, your family will love their family chef for it.
This was so good! I used rice vinegar instead of the wine, and probably doubled the crab (I wanted to use up what I had). The whole family, including my one year old, loved it! Took a bit of prep time but came together very quickly after everything was chopped.
Thanks, Elysse! I’m so glad you and the whole family liked i! What an endorsement :)
How does the flavor of the fried rice change if you don’t include the shaoxing wine?
Hey Mackenzie, the Shaoxing wine adds the tang of an authentic fried rice dish, but you can substitute cooking sherry as well, which you could find in any grocery store. I’ve used it in the past, and it’s great in a pinch.
What can of crabmeat do you recommend?
Hi Deja, we can’t recommend any particular brand. Just know it’s best to use premium hand-picked crab meat!
This is a very good recipe. I add some fresh broccoli before I put in the egg and cook that a bit. I also add some chopped tomato at the end to add some “chill” to the dish. Delicious!
Awesome, sounds lovely!
can i use imitation crab? i am broke (:
Yes!