Southern Thai Yellow Crab Curry - 1 Southern Thai Yellow Crab Curry - 2

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.

Southern Thai Yellow Crab Curry

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

  • 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.