Jon Stranger

Is a fiddler crab the same as a blue swimming crab? Not sure. Anyway, my original post was mainly about pickling - as opposed to cooking (by heat). In the end I 'bottled out' (as we say in the UK) and cooked the crab pieces to avoid risking the health of my guests. Tasted great, but I still would prefer to include an unboiled (blue) crab. Could you describe how you go about salting/fermenting? BTW I quite agree about mixing green mango and papaya - the mango in particular adds a distinct Indochinese flavour rather than pure Thai. But I remain to be convinced that cherry tomatoes are either authentic or necessary or desirable. Jon

A few weeks ago we ate at a restaurant called Cafe de Lao in Bangkok (prior to moving on to Luang Prabang in Laos). Excellent meal and one of the standout dishes was a som tam with what was called 'pickled blue swimming crab' (from a menu that had a whole page of different som tams!). I am planning to try to recreate this dish this coming weekend. I have managed to source a frozen blue swimming crab from a local Thai deli. This appears uncooked (which I am sure it should be) - but what I do not know is how to go about 'pickling' it. Has anyone tried this or have any information on how to go about it? Jon