Singapore Chilli Crab

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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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.

• •

  Vegetarian: swap the protein for roasted king oyster mushrooms, smoked tofu or cooked chickpeas — adjust seasoning slightly upward to compensate.

Storage

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

Frequently Asked Questions