first class chilli crab vest

chilli crab

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Popular Recipes

Chilli crab

One of the most satisfying – and surely the most famous – of all crab dishes, Singapore chilli crab has a relatively short history. The dish consists of crab in its shell, stir-fried and heavily coated in a rich, sweet red sauce made with bottled tomato sauce (ketchup), soy sauce and ginger, among other ingredients, thickened with egg and cornflour. Mud crab, with its generous amount of flaky sweet flesh, is traditionally the crustacean of choice for chilli crab.

Ingredients

  • ½ tsp cornflour
  • 10 long red chillies, finely chopped
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 80 ml vegetable oil (1/3 cup)
  • 2 live mud crabs (about 1kg each), killed humanely, scrubbed and quartered
  • 35 gm ginger, finely chopped (7cm piece)
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 200 ml tomato purée
  • 2 tbsp tomato sauce (ketchup)
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 2 tbsp light soy sauce, or to taste
  • 1 tbsp sugar, or to taste
  • To serve: coriander, thinly sliced spring onions, and crusty bread, steamed buns or steamed rice

Direction

  1. Whisk cornflour and 200ml water in a small bowl to combine and set aside.
  2. Process chilli and onion in a food processor until a paste forms and set aside.
  3. Heat oil in a large wok over medium heat. Add crab and stir-fry until starting to colour (3-4 minutes). Remove crab with a slotted spoon and set aside.
  4. Add chilli paste and stir until tender (7-10 minutes). Add ginger and garlic, stir until fragrant (2-3 minutes). Add tomato paste and stir until mixture darkens in colour (1-2 minutes). Add tomato purée and ketchup, bring to the simmer, add cornflour mixture, stir to combine, then add crab and cook, stirring occasionally, until orange and cooked through (10-12 minutes). Drizzle with egg, stir to coat, season to taste with soy sauce, sugar and salt and serve hot topped with coriander and spring onion, with bread or steamed rice.