I really like crab but I don’t have it all that often as it can be a little on the expensive side. While I was looking through the latest Food & Drink magazine I came across this recipe for a Thai green bean and crab salad which combined crab with some of my favorite Thai flavours and I knew that I would have to try it. I had to wait a couple of weeks for the fresh local green beans to show up at the farmers market but as soon as they did I picked some up. As with many Thai recipes one of the things that I really like about this one is the use of all of the fresh herbs. Of course the use of the peanut butter and peanuts in a savoury dish really did it for me as well. I made a few minor changes to the recipe in replacing the chicken stock in the dressing with coconut milk and adding a chopped up birds eye chili for some heat. The Thai green bean and crab salad turned out great! It was so fresh and light and good! The crisp yet tender green beans and red peppers formed a really nice base to this salad and the peanut butter and coconut milk dressing was very tasty! All of the fresh herbs really brightened up the salad and the chopped peanuts added a great contrasting texture. The crab of course was the center of attention and worked well with all of the flavours of the salad. This salad my be a bit of an indulgence with the crab but it was certainly worth it!
Thai Green Bean and Crab Salad
ingredients
- 1 pound green beans (cleaned, and trimmed)
- 1 red pepper (thinly sliced)
- 1/2 pound crab meat (cooked)
- 2 green onions (sliced)
- 1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)
- 1/4 cup mint (chopped)
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 1/4 cup coconut milk
- 1 lime (juice and zest)
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 birds eye chili (chopped)
- 1/4 cup peanuts (roasted and chopped)
directions
- Cook the green beans in boiling water until they just start to turn tender but are still crisp, about 5 minutes.
- Rinse the green beans under cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Place the green beans, red pepper, crab meat, green onions, cilantro and mint in a large bowl.
- Mix the peanut butter, coconut milk, lime juice and zest, fish sauce and chili in a bowl.
- Toss the dressing and salad to coat and serve topped with peanuts.
giz says
July 15, 2009 at 2:50 amFabulous salad!
Juliana says
July 15, 2009 at 2:58 amWow, crab salad…looks great! Love crab as well.
ttfn300 says
July 15, 2009 at 3:34 amwhat kind of setup do you use, i always love brightness and color of your photos?! i don't buy crab often either, but this might be the occasion 🙂
Arch says
July 15, 2009 at 3:38 amLooks wonderful…like the idea of coconut milk in the salad…wonderful creation, Kevin
Jenn says
July 15, 2009 at 4:02 amI love green beans and I love crab. Yup, this one is definitely for me.
Rosa's Yummy Yums says
July 15, 2009 at 5:03 amWhat a gorgeous salad! Perfect!
Cheers,
Rosa
screwdestiny says
July 15, 2009 at 7:56 amYour photo is so gorgeous! Still trying to wrap my head around crab with peanut butter though…
Cate says
July 15, 2009 at 7:58 amThis recipe is totally my style… bring on the fresh chilis!
Lone Acorn says
July 15, 2009 at 9:05 amKevin I really felt bad that you broke my chain 🙁
♥peachkins♥ says
July 15, 2009 at 11:40 amI love salads with crab!!
lisa says
July 15, 2009 at 12:48 pmThis is a great summer salad and sounds like a delicious mix of ingredients!
Jeff says
July 15, 2009 at 1:22 pmMy green beans are killer now so I am looking for new ways to do them. I like you love crab but hate paying the price for it.
Looks awesome!
Anncoo says
July 15, 2009 at 1:30 pmThis is perfect!
Marta says
July 15, 2009 at 1:51 pmHey Kevin, did youuse fresh or canned crab?
This looks delicious, I also love all the flavours in the sauce:)
Christelle says
July 15, 2009 at 2:26 pmVery fresh looking, I lovethe flavours. I'm curious and like marta would like to know, was it fresh crab?
Humm I'm super hungry nopw :O
Nina Timm says
July 15, 2009 at 3:49 pmThe color of that salad is something else, Kevin!!! Vibrant and inviting…I just want to tuck in!!!
Anonymous says
July 15, 2009 at 3:50 pmYou've got me very interested in this one!
Jenn@slim-shoppin says
July 15, 2009 at 4:58 pmWow, that looks so good!
I love all those ingredients! I hardly ever get crab, but this will be a reason to get some for sure!
The picture looks great Kevin!
Lo says
July 15, 2009 at 6:47 pmWhat a great recipe!
Love the flavors — and the green beans are in their glory right now. Just perfect.
The Duo Dishes says
July 15, 2009 at 7:58 pmSo bright and vibrant! Must taste very light and fresh too.
Cathy says
July 15, 2009 at 10:38 pmWow, this sound wonderful. I love crab but never would have thought to combine it with the flavors in Thai cuisine. The peanut butter is a little hard to imagine but your recipes are always so good, I'll take your word for it.
Anonymous says
July 16, 2009 at 12:03 amHeaven on a plate! Crab and thai flavors are wonderful together and I look forward to using my fresh green beans in this recipe!
Kevin says
July 16, 2009 at 12:23 amMarta & Christelle: I used frozen shell still on crab.
Christie's Corner says
July 16, 2009 at 2:41 pmI adore Thai but never thought of combining the Thai spices with crab. This dish makes me wish my husband ate seafood. Wait. Scratch that. This dish makes me GLAD my husband doesn't eat seafood since I won't have to share.
Chocolate Shavings says
July 17, 2009 at 3:15 amWas the crab hard to find? That salad looks delicious!
Shannon says
July 17, 2009 at 7:42 pmI made this the other night and it was so good! When crab's on sale, this will be made again. Thanks!
Kevin says
July 17, 2009 at 11:15 pmChocolate Shavings: No the crab was not hard to find. There a three really nice fish stores in the St Lawrence market here in Toronto that always seem to have nice crab in various forms.
Rabbittrick says
July 19, 2009 at 7:28 pmoh…. this looks absolutely refreshing! It's really hot where I live so foods like these are always welcome… better still when you can make it on your own at home =)
"Tramie" says
July 20, 2009 at 10:45 pmOMG, that looks really refreshing! Perfect for lazy summer days… of course, if we get any summer at all over here!