Poo Naa, the Interesting Rice Field Crab Used to Make Som Tum

This crab adds delicious flavor and a distinctive aroma when pounded up in som tum salad. Rice farmers in Thailand often consider Poo Naa as a pest because they live in the fields and eat young rice.

The crabs dig into the ridge left when the rice paddies dry out (see photos below). From January to April they hibernate in these ridges, and this is the time when people consider their flavor to be at a peak. Hibernating crabs are big and tasty. When the rice harvest is over, adults and children gather to find crabs in the rice fields using a spade. They catch the crabs and put them into containers. The crabs are not difficult to find, as they like to dig holes in the water near the field ridge, and they don't hide very deep. People are cautious not to mistake crab holes from snake holes, as there are plenty of snakes in the same area.

People like to find crabs during lunch time, when the sun heats up water in the field. Crabs escape hot water by hiding in the grass or under the field ridge.

Delicious to eat when fresh, female crabs are considered more delicious than male. It's most important to prepare these crabs when alive, because they smell bad shortly after they die.

There are many ways to eat Poo Naa; boiled or mixed with salt and roasted. Or they're eaten with green papaya salad by marinating in salt over 1-2 nights then boiled.

The northern Thai people extract the Poo Naa paste called "Num Poo", and put it in curry or Yum salad as seasoning sauce.

Recipe and Video Feature: Som Tum Rice Field in January Poo Naa Ready For Som Tum Poo Naa Ready For Som Tum Poo Naa Alive In The Fresh Market

Thai Feature Stories

The Magnificent Thai Water Buffalo

Thai Cat Watches Over a Bowl of Live Fish

Thai Eating Customs

Betel Nut Chew

Thai Street Vendors

All of our street vendor features can be found in our Thai Street Vendors section.

'Krua Kamnan'

Quail Eggs Fried in Khanom Krok

Fried Pork Toast, 'Khanom Paung Na Moo'

Fresh Fruit from a Bicycle Cart

Thai Street Vendor Videos

All of our videos can be found in our Thai Street Vendor Videos section.

Khao Soi

Stir-fried Seafood Basil, 'Pad Grapao Talay'

Crab Fried Rice, 'Khao Pad Bu'

Gai Tod Hatyai

Comments

Add a Comment