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Chilli Crab Recipe | Singaporean Chilli Crab Recipe | Singaporean Crab Recipe

Singaporean Chilli Crab recipe with step by step pictures. Spicy, sweet, tangy drool worthy Singaporean crab made using fresh ingredients which goes well with fried mantou. 
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Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 348kcal

Equipment

  • 1 Large Wok with Lid (any Deep Pot)

Ingredients

  • 2 Mud or Dungeness crabs prepared (around 750 grams)
  • 500 ml Chicken Stock
  • Salt (to taste)
  • 1 tbsp Sugar
  • 2 tbsp Red Chilli Sauce
  • 2 tsp Soy Sauce
  • ½ cup Tomato Ketchup
  • 2 tsp Cornstarch
  • 1 Egg
  • Coriander leaves A handful
  • ¼ cup Peanut Oil

For Spice Paste

  • 1 large Onion (10 Shallots)
  • 20 Cloves Garlic peeled
  • 2 inch Ginger peeled
  • 15 to 20 Dry Red chillies

Instructions

Preparing Crab

  • Fresh mud crab or any variety of crab is used. Take your crabs and clean as you normally do (check my video for detailed instructions). You can ask your fish monger to clean the crab for you.
  • Or if you are preparing the crab, follow my video for detailed steps. First open the top hard shell of the crab with the help of the flap which is located in the back of the crab. Reserve the crab shell which we will be using for the recipe. You can rinse it once under running tap water to remove any sand, grits or slimy stuff. Now remove the gills of the crab and wash the crab under running water to remove the slimy stuff present in the centre.
  • If your crab is large in size, you might need to remove the crab claws separately for easy mixing the dish. Remove the ends of the crab legs which practically doesn’t have any meat. Once the crab is prepared, use a meat mallet or back of your knife to crack the crab legs a little so the sauce or juices can penetrate into the legs. Set this aside till use.

Spice paste for chilli crab

  • If you are using fresh red chillies then you can skip this step. I like to use dry red chillies which I always have on hand. So I soaked the dry red chillies in hot water for 10 mins. You can remove the seeds from the dry red chillies if you want to cut down the spice level. Remove the stems from the dry red chillies and tap of the dried seeds from it. Now you can soak the chillies in hot water for 10 mins to dehydrate the chillies.
  • Take peeled onions or shallots in a food processor. Add in garlic, ginger, soaked dry red chillies and puree it into a coarse puree. Set aside till use.

Prepreparation

  • Mix ¼ cup of cold water with 2 tsp cornstarch and set aside.
  • Whisk 1 egg and set this aside.
  • If you are using chicken stock cube, mix it with some hot water and set aside.
  • Chop up a bunch of coriander leaves.

Making Chilli Crab

  • Now let’s make chilli crab. Heat a wok on high heat. Add in oil and spread it on all sides of the wok to season the wok. Let the oil heat. Now add in the spice paste which we made. Cook the spice paste for 3 to 4 mins on medium high heat so the raw smell leaves and the spice paste gets cooked.
  • Add in salt and sugar and stir for 1 min more. Now add in the cleaned crab while reserving the top shell which we will be using later. Now toss the crab into the masala and stir fry for 2 mins. Now pour in the chicken stock and mix well. Cover the wok with a lid and cook for 5 to 6 mins.
  • Once the time is up, open the lid and stir in red chilli sauce, tomato ketchup and soy sauce. Mix it well. Now add in the crab shell and gently spoon the sauce over it. Cover again and cook for 4 more mins.
  • Now open the lid and stir in the cornstarch slurry little at a time and give a good mix. The sauce will thicken instantly. Add in beaten egg slowly and half of the coriander leaves. Mix it once and simmer for 30 more seconds while mixing gently. Now turn off the heat. Add the final half of the coriander leaves and mix well.
  • Serve with rice, toasted bread, steamed buns or mantou.

Video

Notes

  • I used dry red chillies in this recipe. But if you can find fresh red chillies, you can use that.
  • The amount of chillies can be increased or decreased depending on your taste preferences.
  • Cooking chilli crab in a large pot or wok is recommended because you need some room to stir all the crabs.
  • Tomato paste can be added or fresh tomatoes can be added for more tanginess.
  • Thai Red Chillies can be used as well.
  • If you don’t have chicken stock, you can add some veg stock or water.
  • Sugar, salt level can be adjusted as per your taste.
  • I used onions, but shallots are used in the original recipe.
  • Cracking the crab legs are important because it make eating this dish more easy and the flavours will penetrate into the legs.
  • Making this dish at home allows you to adjust the sweetness/heat level.
  • Crabs need to be rinsed well, cleaned, and cut into pieces.
  • I keep the creamy part inside the top shell for the extra crab flavor it lends to the dish.
  • Take care when eating the sauce—it may have bits of shell!

Serving Suggestions

Singaporean chilli crab can be served with some rice, toasted bread, buns or mantou.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servings | Calories: 348kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 726mg | Potassium: 991mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 3012IU | Vitamin C: 252mg | Calcium: 89mg | Iron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @yummytummyaarthi or tag #yummytummyaarthi!
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