Singapore chilli crab
Chilli crab (辣椒螃蟹): mud crab in sweet-spicy tomato and egg sauce
Chilli crab was first sold from a pushcart on the Kallang river in the 1950s and is now the dish visitors queue for along Singapore's East Coast seafood strip. Big mud crabs are cut up, wok-fried and simmered in a thick, sweet, tangy and gently hot sauce of chilli, tomato and garlic, which is then silked with beaten egg. Everyone eats with their hands and mops up the sauce with fried or steamed mantou buns. It is a weekend or celebration meal, messy and loud. Buy crabs live or freshly cooked the same day from a fishmonger you trust. Discard any live crab that doesn't move, smells of ammonia or has a cracked, leaking shell. The common mistake is boiling the sauce after adding the egg, which scrambles it into lumps; pour it in a thin stream over a low heat. Chef's tip: ask the fishmonger to clean and quarter the crab for you, and crack each claw lightly with the back of a cleaver so the sauce soaks in.
- Total time
- 55 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the crab
- 2 mud crabs, live or very freshabout 800 g each, cleaned and quartered by the fishmonger
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
For the chilli paste
- 6 fresh red chilliesdeseeded for less heat
- 4 shallotspeeled
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 oz fresh gingerpeeled
- 1 tsp toasted shrimp paste (belacan) (optional)
For the sauce
- ½ cup tomato ketchup
- 3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
- 1 ½ tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 ¾ cups water
- 1 tbsp cornflourmixed with 3 tbsp water
- 2 eggsbeaten
- 2 spring onionssliced
- 1 handful fresh coriander (optional)
- 8 fried or steamed mantou buns (optional)to serve
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Method
0/10 doneStep 1: Keep live 2 mud crabs, live or very fresh in the fridge, covered with a damp cloth, and cook them the same day. Check each piece after cleaning: the flesh should smell of the sea, never sour.
Step 2: Blitz 6 fresh red chillies, 4 shallots, 6 cloves garlic, 1 oz fresh ginger and 1 tsp toasted shrimp paste (belacan) to a coarse paste with 1 tbsp of the 2 ½ tbsp water.
5 minStep 3: Pat the crab pieces dry and dust the cut sides lightly with 2 tbsp cornflour.
3 minStep 4: Heat 4 tbsp vegetable oil in a wok over a high heat. Fry the crab in two batches, 3–4 minutes each, until the shells turn bright orange-red. Lift onto a plate; it will finish cooking in the sauce.
8 minStep 5: Lower the heat to medium. Fry the chilli paste in the oil left in the wok for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until it smells sweet and the oil turns red.
4 minStep 6: Add ½ cup tomato ketchup, 3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce, 1 ½ tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp rice vinegar and the rest of 1 ½ cups water. Bring to the boil and taste: it should be sweet, tangy and gently hot.
2 minStep 7: Return the crab with its juices, cover and simmer over a medium heat for 6–8 minutes, turning the pieces twice, until the meat inside the thickest claw is opaque white and firm all the way through.
8 minStep 8: Stir in 1 tbsp cornflour and bubble for 1 minute until the sauce thickens.
1 minStep 9: Turn the heat to low. Pour in 2 eggs in a thin stream while stirring slowly, so the egg sets in soft ribbons. Turn off the heat as soon as it is just set.
1 minStep 10: Scatter with 2 spring onions and 1 handful fresh coriander and serve at once with 8 fried or steamed mantou buns for the sauce, crab crackers, picks and finger bowls. Eat crab the day it is cooked; don't keep cooked crab at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 34 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
- Fat
- 16 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does singapore chilli crab take?
- About 55 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of cornflour?
- Arrowroot or potato starch, same amount.
- What can I use instead of shallots?
- Half an onion per 2 shallots.
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