This dish is a seafood classic. It is made with soft shell crab which is fried with garlic and black pepper. Soft shelled crab is not a distinct species of crab. Lots of different types of crab can be used and it is eaten all the world not just in Thailand or Asia.
Soft Shelled Crabs
Crabs shed their has exoskeletons every few weeks. The exact timing varies from species to species. To make soft shelled crabs the crabs are fished out of the water before the new shells can grow back. Taking the crab from the water stops the growth process. In order to produce soft shelled crab in any quantity they need to be farmed. The big advantage of soft shelled crab is that the meat is covered with only thin layer of skin which allows the flavour of the garlic and pepper to penetrate the crab meat, which can be eaten without needing to break through hard shell.
Eat Soft Shelled Crab at Farm Poo Nim
The species of crab used most commonly in Thailand is the blue swimmer crab. The fantastic plate of food in the picture was served to me at Farm Poo Nim in Chanthaburi province. This fantastic ramshackle restaurant is on a salt water tributary of the Wan Yao river, where they farm crab and other shell fish.