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Singapore Chilli Crab

Name: Singapore Chilli Crab
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: singaporean
Ingredients: 2 whole mud crabs (about 700 g each), cleaned and halved; 4 tbsp vegetable oil; 6 cloves garlic, minced; 3 cm ginger, minced; 3 tbsp sambal chilli paste; 4 medium tomatoes, blended to a puree; 3 tbsp tomato ketchup; 2 tbsp oyster sauce; 1 tbsp rice vinegar; 1 tbsp sugar; 0.5 cup water or stock; 2 eggs, beaten; 2 tbsp corn starch dissolved in water; Spring onions and coriander to garnish; Fried mantou buns to serve

Whole mud crabs cooked in a tangy, sweet, and mildly spicy tomato-chilli sauce — Singapore's most iconic seafood dish.

Prep

20 min

Cook

25 min

Servings

Difficulty

Hard

★★★★★

4.9(1,750 ratings)

#singaporean#crab#seafood#spicy#national dish#iconic

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About This Recipe

Chilli Crab was invented in Singapore in the 1950s by Madam Cher Yam Tian, who cooked crabs in a chilli-tomato sauce at her roadside stall along the East Coast. The dish exploded in popularity and is now listed on CNN Travel's 'World's 50 Most Delicious Foods.' Whole mud crabs are cracked and stir-fried in a wok, then bathed in a glossy, egg-thickened sauce of tomato, sambal chilli, garlic, ginger, and a touch of vinegar and sugar for balance. It is served with fluffy mantou buns — essential for mopping up every last drop of the sauce, considered by many to be even better than the crab itself. Eating it is gloriously messy and communal.

Ingredients

Serves 4

2whole mud crabs (about 700 g each), cleaned and halved
4 tbspvegetable oil
6 clovesgarlic, minced
3 cmginger, minced
3 tbspsambal chilli paste
4 mediumtomatoes, blended to a puree
3 tbsptomato ketchup
2 tbspoyster sauce
1 tbsprice vinegar
1 tbspsugar
0.5 cupwater or stock
2eggs, beaten
2 tbspcorn starch dissolved in water
Spring onions and corianderto garnish
Fried mantou bunsto serve

Instructions

1
Fry the crab
Heat oil in a large wok over high heat. Add crab pieces, shell-side down, and fry for 3–4 minutes until shells turn bright orange. Remove and set aside.
2
Build the sauce
In the same wok, fry garlic and ginger for 30 seconds. Add sambal and fry 1 minute until fragrant. Add tomato puree, ketchup, oyster sauce, vinegar, sugar, and water. Bring to a simmer.
3
Simmer the crab in sauce
Return crab to the wok. Toss to coat, cover, and cook over medium-high heat for 8–10 minutes until crab is cooked through. Stir in corn starch slurry to thicken.
4
Finish and serve
Drizzle beaten eggs into the sauce in a thin stream, stirring gently to create silky egg ribbons. Garnish with spring onions and coriander. Serve immediately with fried mantou buns.

Pro Tips

→
Ask your fishmonger to clean and halve live crabs — this is much easier than doing it at home.
→
The mantou buns can be steamed or deep-fried; deep-frying creates a more luxurious texture.
→
Do not over-thicken the sauce — it should be glossy and coatable, not gluey.

Variations

•
Black pepper crab: replaces the chilli-tomato sauce with a black pepper and butter glaze.
•
Salted egg crab: crab tossed in a rich salted egg yolk sauce.
•
Use King prawns as a more affordable alternative to whole crab.

Storage

Best eaten immediately. Leftover crab in sauce keeps for 1 day refrigerated; reheat gently in the sauce with a splash of water.

History & Origin

Chilli crab was created around 1956 by Madam Cher Yam Tian on the Singapore waterfront. Her husband Roland Lim later opened a restaurant and formally put it on the menu. It was declared part of Singapore's intangible cultural heritage and has been served to visiting heads of state.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is chilli crab very spicy?

It is mildly spicy — the sauce is predominantly sweet and savoury. Adjust sambal quantity for your preferred heat level.

What type of crab should I use?

Sri Lankan or Flower mud crabs are traditional. Dungeness or Blue crab work well as substitutes.

Nutrition Facts

Per serving (450g / 15.9 oz) · 4 servings total

Calories420kcal

Protein38g

Carbohydrates22g

Fat18g

Fiber2g

Protein38g

Carbs22g

Fat18g

Time Summary

Prep time20 min

Cook time25 min

Total time45 min

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About This Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 4

2whole mud crabs (about 700 g each), cleaned and halved

4 tbspvegetable oil

6 clovesgarlic, minced

3 cmginger, minced

3 tbspsambal chilli paste

4 mediumtomatoes, blended to a puree

3 tbsptomato ketchup

2 tbspoyster sauce

1 tbsprice vinegar

1 tbspsugar

0.5 cupwater or stock

2eggs, beaten

2 tbspcorn starch dissolved in water

Spring onions and corianderto garnish

Fried mantou bunsto serve

Instructions

Fry the crab

Heat oil in a large wok over high heat. Add crab pieces, shell-side down, and fry for 3–4 minutes until shells turn bright orange. Remove and set aside.

Build the sauce

In the same wok, fry garlic and ginger for 30 seconds. Add sambal and fry 1 minute until fragrant. Add tomato puree, ketchup, oyster sauce, vinegar, sugar, and water. Bring to a simmer.

Simmer the crab in sauce

Return crab to the wok. Toss to coat, cover, and cook over medium-high heat for 8–10 minutes until crab is cooked through. Stir in corn starch slurry to thicken.

Finish and serve

Drizzle beaten eggs into the sauce in a thin stream, stirring gently to create silky egg ribbons. Garnish with spring onions and coriander. Serve immediately with fried mantou buns.