Kdam Chha M'rech Kchei — Kep Crab with Green Kampot Pepper
ក្ដាមឆាម្រេចខ្ចី
The signature dish of Kep's crab market: whole blue crab stir-fried hard with fresh green Kampot peppercorns still on the stem, fish sauce, and garlic.
By Cambodian Cookbook Kitchen · June 2, 2026
កំពត Kampot, Kep & the CoastThe Modern Kingdom era, 1993–present
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Serves
- 3
- Level
- Intermediate
Kep is a small town on the Gulf of Thailand with a single overwhelming institution: a crab market of stilted shacks where women in wide hats wade into the shallows to haul up woven traps, and the catch travels perhaps thirty feet from sea to wok. The dish that made the town is kdam chha m'rech kchei — blue swimmer crab stir-fried hard with fresh green Kampot peppercorns still clinging to the stem. The pairing is geographic destiny: the pepper terraces climb the red hills a short drive inland, and the crabs come from the water in front of you. The modern kingdom rebuilt both trades after the war nearly erased them, and today the plate is Cambodia's most photographed piece of seafood.
The cooking is loud and quick. A wok hot enough to just smoke, garlic thrown in for ten seconds, crab seared cut-side down until the shells flush orange, then the whole green pepper stems and a fish-sauce glaze slammed in and tossed until it clings. The fresh peppercorns are the whole argument — soft, juicy, herbal, mild enough to strip off the stem with your teeth and eat like tiny grapes of heat. Crack the claws before you start, because a locked claw is a wasted one, and set out finger bowls; this is a dish eaten with both hands, a mound of rice, and no dignity whatsoever. That is exactly how Kep intends it.
Buy the crabs alive and heavy for their size, and cook them the day you buy them. Green pepper on the stem is the soul of this dish — do not substitute quietly and pretend.
ពាក្យពីចុងភៅ · A word from the kitchen
Ingredientsគ្រឿងផ្សំ
Serves 3
០ of ៩ gathered
The crab
The sauce
Methodវិធីធ្វើ
Step 1: Clean and crack the crabs
Lift the top shell, discard the gills, and quarter each crab through the body so every piece carries legs and a knuckle. Crack the claws with the back of a heavy knife so the sauce and pepper can get inside — a whole uncracked claw is a locked door.
Step 2: Get the wok screaming
Heat the oil until it shimmers and just smokes, then fry the garlic and spring-onion whites for ten seconds until fragrant. This dish is cooked hot and fast; a cool wok stews the crab and you lose the smoky edge the Kep grills live for.
Step 3: Sear the crab
Add the crab pieces cut-side down and let them sear a full minute before you toss. The shells will flush orange. Stir-fry two to three minutes so the meat firms but stays sweet and just short of set.
Step 4: Add pepper and sauce
Drop in the whole pepper stems and the sauce mixture, cover for two minutes to steam the crab through, then uncover and toss hard until the liquid glazes the shells. Finish with the spring-onion greens. Eat it with your hands, over rice, and a beer colder than the Gulf.
ឧបករណ៍ · The tools
Equipment
Carbon-steel wok
ខ្ទះFor char kroeung, loc lac, and every fast fry — a well-seasoned wok gets screaming hot and moves food fast, the whole point of a stir-fry. Flat-bottomed for a home stove.
Shop on Amazon →Tiered steamer
សម្ភារៈចំហុយStacked tiers for amok cups, steamed cakes, and fish — gentle, even heat that sets custards without breaking them. A wide pot with a rack stands in.
Shop on Amazon →
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Questions from the kitchen
Where does this dish come from?
Kep's crab market, a row of stilted shacks over the water where women wade out to pull woven traps from the sea. The town's blue swimmer crabs and the green pepper grown a few kilometres inland are so tied together that the combination has become the coast's single most famous plate.
I can only get dried peppercorns — is it worth making?
It is still very good, but it is a different dish. Fresh green pepper is juicy, herbal, and mild enough to eat whole off the stem; dried black is hotter and sharper. If using dried, crack a tablespoon coarse and add a splash more stock so it doesn't scorch.
Can I use pre-cooked or frozen crab?
You can, and outside the tropics you often must, but cut the cooking to a quick glaze so you're only heating the meat through, not cooking it twice. Live and same-day is the ideal the whole dish is built around; frozen is an honest compromise, not a secret.
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