Cambodia & Recipe: The world's best rice with crab

As a tribute to Cambodia, which regularly wins the award for the best rice in the world, we thought it would be a good idea to offer a quick and easy recipe containing this famous rice and another of Cambodia's most popular dishes, crab. The dish below can be eaten on its own, as a starter or as a side dish.

Ingredients

For the rice :

110 g or ½ cup jasmine rice, washed and drained
1 tablespoon olive or peanut oil
½ teaspoon turmeric
285 ml or ¼ cup of fish or chicken stock
Pinch of salt

For the crabmeat :

2 tablespoons butter or oil
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 tbsp chopped spring onions or chives
225 g or 1 cup fresh crabmeat (white meat only)
salt and pepper

Topping :

One cucumber, washed and peeled and cut into thin slices

Preparation:

Heat the oil over a medium heat, add the drained rice and stir continuously for two minutes.
Add the turmeric and stir for a further two minutes, giving the rice an even pale yellow colour. Add the stock and salt, stir the rice and bring to the boil.
Cover the pan, lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and leave it covered with a damp cloth for five minutes.
Ten minutes before the rice is ready, heat the butter or crabmeat oil in a frying pan and sauté the shallots until soft. Add the crabmeat and onions or chives and stir gently.
Cook over a medium heat for two minutes. Season and continue cooking for a further minute, turning the mixture gently.
Butter two large or four small ramekins and line the base with greaseproof paper. Divide the crabmeat between the ramekins and press down with the back of a spoon. Place the rice on top of the crabmeat, pressing it down evenly so that it is flush with the edge.
To unmould the rice, run a knife around each ramekin and turn it out onto a plate. Press lightly on the bottom of the ramekin and lift it out. Discard the paper. Decorate with slices of cucumber arranged around the moulded rice. Serve warm or cold.