pu phat phong kari — Thailand

Pu phat phong kari is a Thai stir-fried crab dish whose name breaks down plainly: pu means crab, phat means stir-fried, and phong kari refers to curry powder. Rather than being simmered in a thin curry broth, the crab here is coated in a soft, custard-like sauce built from egg and milk, and the dish is usually brought to the table as one of several shared plates alongside steamed rice. It is served throughout Thailand, but is especially associated with coastal towns and with seafood restaurants in Bangkok, where mud crab or blue crab is commonly used. Because good crab is central to the dish, quality and freshness of the crab, rather than the sauce alone, are what diners and cooks tend to judge the dish by. To prepare it, crab is cleaned and cut into manageable pieces, with the shell sometimes cracked so the sauce can reach the meat. The pieces are stir-fried briefly with garlic and curry powder in a hot pan or wok, after which beaten egg and evaporated milk, or sometimes coconut milk, are poured in and cooked gently with constant stirring so that they set into a soft, pale yellow coating rather than scrambling into separate curds. Sliced onion, celery and fresh chili are folded in toward the end for crunch, colour and a light sharpness. What sets pu phat phong kari apart from other Thai curries is precisely this reliance on egg and milk to build a creamy, coating sauce rather than a thin, spooned broth. Cooks vary the amount of curry powder, the choice between coconut milk and evaporated milk, and small additions such as spring onion, and each combination shifts the dish toward a richer or a lighter result.