Singapore Chilli Crab
Whole crab cooks in a sweet, vinegary, savoury chilli sauce enriched with crab tomalley and shrimp paste. Serve with mantou buns, bread or rice.
By Cookin' Kitchen
- Total: 40 minutes
- Servings: 3 servings
Recipe
Singapore Chilli Crab
Whole crab cooks in a sweet, vinegary, savoury chilli sauce enriched with crab tomalley and shrimp paste. Serve with mantou buns, bread or rice.
Cookin' · https://cookin.club/recipes/singapore-chilli-crab
- Prep
- 20 minutes
- Cook
- 20 minutes
- Total
- 40 minutes
- Servings
- 3
Ingredients
For 3 servings
Crab
Chilli paste
Singapore chilli crab sauce
Garnishes and serving
Equipment
- Small food processor
- Tongs
- Bowl
- Large serving plate or shallow dish
- Crab crackers
Instructions
Prepare and cook the crab
Step 1: Clean and cut a whole crab. Separate the crab pieces from the reserved tomalley (“crab mustard”) and crab juices, keeping the tomalley and juices in a separate bowl; they will flavour the sauce.
Step 2: Place the chilli paste ingredients in a small food processor and blitz until fairly smooth.
Step 3: Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the belachan and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. The smell will be pungent, but it will mellow as it cooks.
Step 4: Add the chilli paste and cook for 3 minutes, stirring.
Step 5: Add the tomato passata and cook for 4 minutes, stirring regularly.
Step 6: Add the sweet chilli sauce, ketchup and water. Stir to combine.
Step 7: Add the crab claws first and stir to coat them in the sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 3 minutes.
Tip: The claws take longer to cook than the other crab pieces.
Step 8: Add the reserved tomalley and all the crab juices.
Step 9: Remove the lid and add the remaining crab pieces and any juices collected in their bowl. Stir to coat, cover again and cook for 7 minutes.
Step 10: Use tongs to transfer the crab pieces to a bowl.
Step 11: With the sauce still on the stove, stir it in a circular motion and pour the egg in a thin stream into the middle of the pot. This creates ribbons of egg in the sauce.
Step 12: Stir in the vinegar.
Step 13: Return the crab pieces to the pot and gently stir to coat them in the sauce.
Plate and serve
Step 14: Transfer the crab pieces to a large serving plate or shallow dish. Pour all the sauce from the pot over the crab, then garnish with coriander and green onion.
Step 15: Serve with golden mantou buns, homemade brioche, baguette, crusty bread or dinner rolls. Rice can also be served on the side.
Step 16: Crack the shell with crab or nut crackers to reach the meat. Dip the crab generously in the sauce and eat with your hands.
Tip: A meat tenderiser or hammer can also be used to crack the shell.
Step 17: Save any leftover sauce.
Notes
Ingredient options
Use another large, fresh crab in place of mud crab. For the taucu paste, the recipe notes a substitute of 1 tablespoon miso paste plus 1/2 teaspoon sugar. If using bottled shrimp paste instead of belachan, use 2 tablespoons. Red onion can replace the eschalots; use 1/2 red onion.
To reduce the heat, use less chilli and/or remove the seeds. Add hot sauce at the end if you want more heat.
Storing leftovers
Refrigerate leftover cooked crab for up to 3 days and reheat gently in the microwave. Store leftover sauce in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze it for up to 3 months.
About this recipe
Singapore chilli crab pairs fresh crab with a sweet, vinegary, savoury sauce made with chilli, aromatics, shrimp paste and reserved crab tomalley. Keep the crab juices too—they add flavour to the sauce.
Serve the crab with golden mantou buns, bread or rice. Set out crab crackers and be ready to eat with your hands.
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